Needles turning brown on pine

[MSJ]

I have a 12' lodgepole pine which was planted a few years ago. It has seemed to do well, with new growth this spring, etc. The needles on the tree (more on one side than the other) are now turning brown. Not the tips (which are still green), but most of the needles behind the tips. Here is a pic of the worts portion of it. Any thoughts?

 

[smokechase II]

brown needles

I'm going to say that is normal.
After seeing your post in the morning before work and then looking over several LP trees during the day. I saw some like yours, a few with about half as many brown needles and over half with very few brown needles at all.

I think the brown interior needles are just part of the tree adjusting to lower levels of soil moisture. (We are just starting to seriously dry out our green fuels)

These needles dry off and fall off on apparently all conifers. Look at the branch between the green needles on a healthy conifer and the trees trunk.

If there was an insect or disease present the entire limb outward from the trunk would be affected.

 

[Ekka]

G'day MSJ and welcome to the site.

In that pic, what is the tree on the right next to pine. Has a heart shaped leaf with a prominant drip tip (usually indicates rainforest species) ... just curious.

And pines do that a bit here too, can we have a wider shot to see the trunk and spot it's in etc?

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/subimages.cfm?SUB=898
Rhizosphaera needle cast is a common problem of long needle pines and spruce trees around my location. The above link shows a rhizosphaera species that is specific to Lodgepole Pine. Control is a fungicide spray two or three times in the spring, to protect new growth. The older infected needles will continue to fall. If you continue a spray program, the tree will fill in in over time and look good again.
The spray program is almost identical to spraying for apple scab on crabapples, if you guys do that out west.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

G'day MSJ and welcome to the site.

In that pic, what is the tree on the right next to pine. Has a heart shaped leaf with a prominant drip tip (usually indicates rainforest species) ... just curious.

And pines do that a bit here too, can we have a wider shot to see the trunk and spot it's in etc?

That looks like an aspen or poplar, a large toothed aspen would be my guess.

 

[smokechase II]

which needles

Looking over your photo again. I still don't think I see the ends of any limbs browned.

"If there was an insect or disease present the entire limb outward from the trunk would be affected."
Should read: If there was an insect or disease present the entire limb outward from the infection/infestation would be affected.

If the ends of the limbs are not browned. You are probably just fine.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I disagree.
Symptoms of rhizosphaera are most prominent on older needles.
Healthy Pines hold there needles for 3 years. When they get rhizosphaera, there will only be one or two year old needles left on the tree, and the tree starts to look sparse.
It takes time for the fungus to kill the needles, so the new growth looks the best and the one and two year old needles needles eventually die and fall off.
Often, the tree will grow for years with the fungus.

"Because of the long delay between infection in spring and needle drop the following summer, the ends of infected branches appear green and healthy. Branches appear to lose their needles from the trunk outward. Those branches which repeatedly lose needles for three or four years may die."


Source of above quote.

 

[MSJ]

Thanks for the info. I'll look into the spraying. Is it possible that an over-watering episode a few months ago could result in these symptoms now? I left a hose on much longer than I intended 2 or 3 months ago on this tree. I believe my soil drains decently. It has some clay, but also a lot of sand and rocks. Is over-watering a big issue on LP pines, and what sort of injury would it produce? How long would it take to see the injury? Thanks.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

I disagree.
Symptoms of rhizosphaera are most prominent on older needles.
Healthy Pines hold there needles for 3 years. When they get rhizosphaera, there will only be one or two year old needles left on the tree, and the tree starts to look sparse.
It takes time for the fungus to kill the needles, so the new growth looks the best and the one and two year old needles needles eventually die and fall off.
Often, the tree will grow for years with the fungus.

"Because of the long delay between infection in spring and needle drop the following summer, the ends of infected branches appear green and healthy. Branches appear to lose their needles from the trunk outward. Those branches which repeatedly lose needles for three or four years may die."


Source of above quote.

Isn't it the knobcone pine that holds needles for 9 or 10 years? It seems that others are 2 years. And others in between.