interior shedding is normal ... can be increased due to various stresses like drought or winter ... no conifer holds its needles forever ... its cyclical ... hard to tell about yours.. without a pic ... neighbor spent many years.. and many hundreds of dollars trying to spray 30 foot trees... they gave up.. as far as i know ... i cant conceptualize how a homeowner could do it ... whatever it is.. it isnt a soil issue ... and they arent hungry.. so its not a food/fert issue ... besides.. if you fert your lawn.. they get what they need ... thoug the picea pungens is a magnet for the needle cast ... it shouldnt be a problem with the dougs ... though i might be corrected on that .... are we sure on the various IDs ... need a pic ... ken

I have had really good luck with S&S plants. I have made two orders (30 plants) and only had sudden needle drop one 1. It's actually very remarkable given the age of these plants. Fresh grafts like this are probably 10x more likely to croak without warning than a 1 year old graft. For those of us that do are own grafting, we know that the 1st year plants are at high risk. Sometimes there is an issue with the graft, but it only takes a small event to kill these plants that are still under stress from the grafting process. Then you factor in the stress of them being shipped, and 25% loss doesn't seem too bad.. especially given the wholesale price point. So the plants have always arrived in good condition, with the exception of 1. However, this plants are still at high risk for failure. I've probably lost about about 10/30 of the plants in those two orders. Most were my fault, I tried to overwinter them in my garage and it didn't go well, but I have also lost some that I planted directly in the ground. Of the ones that made it through their first winters, I don't think I lost any more after that though... they start to stabilize at that point. -Shawn

Lucky I caught these before they ate all of P. Banksiana Uncle Fogy. They work quickly for sure. I was watching them for a few minutes, they seem to have endless bellies. Probably because they poop a lot. I used a “general” bug killer and it did not appear to harm the tree (and I used a lot, Spectrum brand in the 1 gallon or slightly smaller container, I already had it which is why I used it). I also used a bunch on a columnar white pine to treat the pine bark adelgid. There were a lot of white splotches/patchy areas where branches come out of main trunk and it seems to work decent though I will spray the pine once more before winter. No noticeable harm to pine. Apparently I bought this pine infected or they developed quickly but for 4 years Ive been concerned if it would make it(even though though I didnt treat it for 4 years lol). Now I am rather confident it will be fine. Just need to stay on it and spray periodically. But the amount of white has gone down for sure.

im wondering about the crazy stone patio .... and about the tree looking telephone poled .... and what would happen to the patio.. if the tree fell over ??? the bark may have lightened due to increased sun since pruning.. normal and irrelevant ... ALL evergreen plants shed needles.. its basically cyclical ... according to the plant ... and also ... as it probably is in this case.. increased due to stress .... not to mention increased sun on parts were newly exposed to sun due to the injury and pruning .... if you note as fall progresses ... around town.. you might notice it happening on various pine trees ... with varying degrees .... there is only one thing you can do about it ... and that is focus on the growth tips.. and if those are properly green.. and look OK .. then you are all set for next year ... if the tree trunk was buried significantly.. when ever the patio was built.... the tree is probably dying in tree time.. and removal is probably the only option ... but counting in tree time .. decades.. this might happen a decade from now .. who knows .... again ... there is little you can do about the tree .. and the decision might be more about the patio ... and its possible destruction .... this MIGHT all happen in very slow motion ... and i am addressing a consideration ... i do not mean to make you flip out and worry about it .. its not like its leaning over the house ... ken