Posted by John Bruninga on January 23, 19100 at 12:33:56:
In Reply to: Re: White Pine Trees dying posted by John Bruninga on January 23, 19100 at 12:23:53:
: : : : What you may have is White Pine Blister Rust, look for a Sappy Blister on the base of large branches. If you find this, you may have Blister Rust. If there are Black Currant bushes in the neighborhood, they must be removed or all the trees will eventually become infected and they will eventually die. Sorry, for the bad news, understand, I'm only speculating and you should contact your local Extension Service and have them come to check your trees for you.
: : I have three white pine trees in my lawn that the needles are turning yellow and dying one tree at a time. We had a very dry month of september, I watered the trees and lawn about 1/2 inch per week during this time. I live in Middle Tennessee and have not seen this happen before. Any help will be much appreciated.
BOB: ARE YOU SURE THEY ARE DIEING? PINES, INCLUDING PINUS STROBUS- THE WHITE PINE NORMALLY SHED THE 3 YEAR OLD NEEDLES EVERY YEAR IN THE FALL. SOME YEARS IT IS NOT AS NOTICABLE AS OTHERS. IF THE INTERIOR NEEDLES ARE THE ONES TURNING YELLOW AND FALLING OFF, RELAX THIS IS NORMAL. AFTER A GOOD RAIN OR WIND STORM THE TREES WILL LOOK FINE. MVG PLANT DR.
All these answers are great for specific problems,but nobody knows what's killing off the white pines. Look at a row of ten white pines and you'll see three to four dying. Even our agricultural center doesn't know what is wrong. They do much better further north of Nashville. I baby trees and one will do great while another prefers to just die. Hopefully someday someone will find out what the problem is. If it's indeed location, that can't be conquered. I would highly recommend planting Scotch, Black Japanese Pine, or Norway Spruce. Although not a pine, they have no enemies that I can find and grow to be very large and beautiful. As a true lover of white pines, I highly recommend the Norway as a great substitute. Happy Planting!!