dying ponderosa pine tree

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goodlad

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Jun 20, 2001
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Location
Klamath Falls Oregon
Can we save our tree? About 18 months ago we put in a manufactured home on a wooded lot. We had to take out one Ponderosa tree. In doing so, we are afraid that we may have damaged the tree right next to it (5 ft away). This tree is looking very sickly, the majority of the needles are dead, although there are some green ones. The tree sits about 10 feet from the house and also the water line for the house was trenched near the base of this tree. We are in a drought here in So. Oregon and are keeping a drip line on the tree and have dosed it with Miracid. Will this do anything to help? I had heard that pines go dormant in the summer, with major growth happening in the winter - is this true? This is a big beautiful tree, about 80 ft tall and over 2 ft at the base and we would hate to lose it. Any suggestions on saving this tree would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
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Unfortunately this is what happens when people build on a wooded lot without an arborist's advice beforehand. Pines especially are sensitive to root disturbance. Sounds like you gave it a death sentence 18 months ago. there are several threads in this forum on roots and root damage and they all say the same thing. Sorry about your tree.
 
Try to make a scaled drawing of your landscape, say a 1 inch circle for the trunk of your Ponderosa. Then draw a bigger circle around that one, say a foot, to illustrate the trees roots. Draw in your water line. You just cut-off that much of the bigger circle of roots. Now, place your house on the drawing. If it sits inside that circle you've covered & compacted those roots. How much free & functional root area is left for the tree? Trees rarely die of just one thing, its a combination of stresses. Reduced root area + drought = problems. The tree may survive but it will take a while to recover if it does & likely die back some. Or it may attract a pest or two to finish the job & kill it. I wish your tree luck, I know its sad to lose a friendly giant.
 
Thanks for the information. We will keep up with the water to the tree, but we're not sure how much to give it. Right now the soil for about 10 ft around the tree is soaked, but not puddling. Should we keep the ground constantly wet or cut off the water for short periods? Do trees need more water in the summer or winter? We noticed the needles were mostly green to yellow about a month ago, now they are mostly brown. Also, how often should a tree of this size be given Miracid?
Thanks again for your help.
 
Roots need oxygen too, so don't keep the area water saturated or the tree will drown. Evergreens don't quite go dormant & need water year round if Nature fails to provide. Once a month in winter works here in NM. Putting any kind of amendment or fertilizer out is hard tojudge without knowing what your soil contains & needs in the way of nutrients to begin with. A soil test would be a good idea before starting routine additions of anything.
 
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