pine tree slowly dying

[doc henderson]

sandy soil, and 20 feet uphill from a drainage ditch.  whole street on a slope so most water drains away.  hmmm.
it is still dying. so we should be able to see the wood grain eventually if that helps.  

[Al_Smith]

I'm not a pine tree expert or an expert on any tree .Now saying that I've been told on residential yard trees most people clean up the dropped needles under the trees "pine straw " so it looks neat and tidy .Some say this is not the thing to do because in a natural setting the decaying needles are beneficial for the health of the tree .That would make sense if you think about .

[kantuckid]

In the older neighborhood of Homewood, AL (Birmingham) where one of our Son's lives, there are mature SYP's in most all yards along with oaks that are ~ 150-175 yrs old-oaks there up to 4' diameter. I'm talking trees in manicured lawns, few pine needles, and often pine diameters up to 36" or so. As we walked for exercise a few years ago after a bad storm, I winced as the tree services chopped up huge SYP trees into chunks and loaded on trucks. What I wouldn't give to saw a few on my mill. 
Point is, based on age and size, they seem to say the needles don't matter? 

[dchiapin]

Yes but those manicured lawns are given fertilizer that also feed the trees

[doc henderson]

now I have a pine (Austrian I think) in trouble.  the two on the left, were in the back yard when we moved here.  tree spaded ten years ago, and grew well.  the one on the left, has been slower I think due to proximity to the other trees.  ERC and cottonwood.  it has had a few brown needles for a year, now over a few weeks, gone.  





I took, but cannot find, the close up pic.  will get another after the sun is up.  

[Al_Smith]

I've got a pine of some kind about a 70-80 footer slowly dying .I'll give it another year but doubt it will recover .I have no idea what kind is beca

 use unlike many I'm not a forester but I can tell the difference between a white oak and a shag bark hickory .

[WDH]

If it has 5 needles to the bundle it is white pine called a soft pine.  If it has either 2 or 3 needles to the bundle, it is one of the yellow pines, called hard pines.  Red pine would have 2 needles to the bundle.  

[Al_Smith]

Maybe 10 years we had extremely wet weather two years in a row and I had several spruce trees showing signs of decline starting with the lower limbs .I called the state of Ohio forestry about it ,this is what I was told .
Spruce ,pine etc are mountain  trees .As such the extremely rich organic soils in north west Ohio may grow good crops it doesn't grow healthy pine trees .She suggested clipping the lower branches and dip the  loppers in a mixture of bleach and water .I saved most but many were too far gone . In the picture I posted that blue spruce was one I managed to save . According to the forester it was a type of canker .

[Al_Smith]

From what I remember about Birmingham it's kind of hilly .My wife's cousin took us on a tour .Great big southern mansions on those hills .Million dollar homes to say the least with big trees .Somebody had a lot of money at one time and probably still do .

[KenMac]

From what I remember about Birmingham it's kind of hilly .My wife's cousin took us on a tour .Great big southern mansions on those hills .Million dollar homes to say the least with big trees .Somebody had a lot of money at one time and probably still do .

Actually, what you're calling Birmingham is Mountain Brook or Homewood. Both are old money towns with many huge pines and hardwoods in well manicured yards. Birmingham is mostly much poorer but they are building and selling a lot of lofts in the downtown area. No big trees there or much else worth having in my opinion. ( I'm not a bug fan of B'ham if you haven't guessed).

[KenMac]

From what I remember about Birmingham it's kind of hilly .My wife's cousin took us on a tour .Great big southern mansions on those hills .Million dollar homes to say the least with big trees .Somebody had a lot of money at one time and probably still do .

Actually, what you're calling Birmingham is Mountain Brook or Homewood. Both are old money towns with many huge pines and hardwoods in well manicured yards. Birmingham is mostly much poorer but they are building and selling a lot of lofts in the downtown area. No big trees there or much else worth having in my opinion. ( I'm not a bug fan of B'ham if you haven't guessed).

I'm not a BIG fan either..... :D