Is this Pine tree dying?

[pefrey]

I don't know the tree ID (Hemlock?), but last year I noticed the top going bare. This year it is almost half the tree. The area is shaded half the day by a nearby large Oak tree and 3 somewhat small Maple trees that are maybe 4 or 5 inches in diameter and 20' tall. I am removing the Maple trees due to this shading and the fact that the area is a little too choked with trees. Is it dying or is it just unhealthy because it is not getting enough sunlight? Or is it something else? If unhealthy, what can I do? Let me know what kind of information you need or if I need to take better pictures.

Thanks.

 

[Jed1124]

Your Hemlocks needles look chlorotic. Lift them up and check for small elongated botches on the underside of the needles. That would be Elongated Hemlock Scale. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid looks like white puff balls along the end of the stems.
Hemlocks don’t like full sun so shade is not your issue.
With the amount of defoliation it does not look good.

 

[pefrey]

Thanks, I'll check this tomorrow.

 

[irhunter]

I'd consider cutting the hemlock and keeping one of the maples...at least if it's a sugar maple...a very nice and long-lived tree.

 

[ATpro]

Looks like root disease, we have a root disease here that affects short leaf pine. Crown starts dying and foliage starts thinning, may take several years for the tree to die. What happens most of the time is, as the tree begins to weaken bugs will hit it and finish it off. Folks will think the bugs killed the tree but bugs only accelerated the tree dying. Not understanding the real cause makes management harder to address.