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greatplainsturf

Winter Desiccation

greatplainsturf
11 years ago

After a walk in the yard today I notice that most all my evergreens are browning on the south side. There is a distinct brown hue to all the needles on the south and when you go to the north it's much more green. This is true of all my Norway spruces, white pines, and Alberta spruces. The blue and Serbian spruces aren't showing it. It's definitely getting worse as winter goes on. All these trees are well mulched and damp. Will there be any long term damage from this? Will these needles regain some color come spring? I've noticed the native eastern red cedars in the area doing the same thing on the south sides. I've also seen Loblolly pines almost turn completely yellow or brown in winter only to recover in spring. Is this normal for these trees? Most of them were planted in fall of 2011 and amazingly I don't remember this last winter when they had essentially no roots.

Comments (14)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    pic please???

    words alone can not differentiate winter color from winter damage ...

    ken

  • bengz6westmd
    11 years ago

    The sun heats up southern exposures higher than the air temp, drying them out. The very low dew points, drying winds & frozen topsoil in OK exacerbate this.

    As trees get roots deeper than the soil frost-line, they are less susceptible. My Green giant arbs winter-burned quite a bit for their first few yrs, but not now.

  • greatplainsturf
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    It's hard to tell from the pics but here they are.

    Alberta spruce
    South:
    {{gwi:623995}}

    North:
    {{gwi:623998}}

    Norway spruce:
    South:
    {{gwi:624001}}

    North:
    {{gwi:624004}}

    White pine:
    North:
    {{gwi:624007}}

    South:
    {{gwi:624010}}
    {{gwi:624012}}
    South but under side of branch:
    {{gwi:624014}}

  • whaas_5a
    11 years ago

    Doesn't really matter if you have good buds, they lose those needles at some point. The white pine will lose those needs next fall.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    on the pine.. the yellowing is slight. and not uncommon.. 2nd to last pic .. tip burn for sure ... still might not be fully established .. and increased by such ...

    and the picea glauca.. i dont see any burn.. just off color ... same with the picea abies.. [you really need to get to the latin .. ] ...

    all and all.. a curiosity ... gald you are out there observing ..... but at this time nothing to worry about... not that you could do anything about it ...

    if you soil isnt frozen.. whats the moisture in the ground?? ... dave in KC was watering last week .. even a dormant tree needs SOME moisture in the soil ... especially if NOT fully established ...

    ken

  • greatplainsturf
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Soil is not frozen right now. Frozen soil comes and goes in OK. The moisture is fine using the finger test. Just wanted to see how common this was and if I need to invest in some wilt pruf or something this year or next. I know they aren't fully established yet, but I just didn't remember this level of burn (discoloration) last year even when they were freshly planted and had no roots.

  • scotjute Z8
    11 years ago

    Some of Eastern Red Cedar down here are doing much the same as you describe. Hinoki Cypress and even Arizona Cypress are all show change to a lesser green color.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    you bought big.. right..

    a 4 to 8 foot tree.. could take upwards of 3 years.. to regrow the lost root mass ...

    winter coloration is common ...

    IMHO.. spraying 'stuff' .. and that not the word i would choose.. lol .. well.. just send me the money.. for what its worth ... a marketers dream product.. guilt.. loving thing to death.. etc ...

    let me put it this way.. if plants respire.. breath.. of what good is clogging all its pores with gunk????

    besides the fact that many plants have a glaucous ... blue waxy coating.. and all you are doing is layering goo on top of that.. and potentially changing its color yourself..

    please just forget about that stuff.. forever. ...

    ken

  • fairfield8619
    11 years ago

    Now that Ken has mentioned it, I have remembered a question I've been wondering about. I was always under the assumption that plants don't respire or "breathe" they actually transpire. I think it is two completely different ways to exchange gas? One chemical one physiological- does anyone know for sure? I've used wilt pruf for years when transplanting and can tell it gives benefit- almost bare rooted things in summer and they survived. We don't need it for winter here. It's like a band-aid.

  • jimbobfeeny
    11 years ago

    AT night, plants actually do undergo respiration.

    This post was edited by jimbobfeeny on Sun, Jan 27, 13 at 18:39

  • bluecone
    11 years ago

    Let me guess: you recently fertilized the trees, right? Conifers are hardy to cold, and Oklahoma doesn't get too cold anyway, certainly not this year. Alberta and Blue Spruce should not be bothered by Oklahoma level of cold. The fact that such a wide variety of species are experiencing the tip burn makes me thing something is compounding the problem. Salts in fertilizer solutions increase the soil's osmolarity and make it harder for the plant to take up water.

    Fertilizer + cold + dryness + sun = tip burn in even the most cold- and drought- tolerant of plants.

    This post was edited by bluecone on Sun, Jan 27, 13 at 21:56

  • greatplainsturf
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Nope. No fertilizer. It must just be the dry cold air taking it out of the plants. My lawn is much the same way. My fescue/bluegrass lawn gets very yellow by mid winter. The leaf tips are completely yellow where the base stays green. Homes that are more in the city and have more sheltered yards keep their grass mostly green all winter. Something about the exposed location plays a part I think.

  • whaas_5a
    11 years ago

    More to do with the sun (freeze/thaw cycles) than anything not the dry cold air (although likely a part of it).

  • texjagman
    11 years ago

    Needle tip browning and yellowing is going to be a standard here in Oklahoma for sure, especially on young pines. You say your finger test says the water is OK but other than that dousing of rain we just got the other day for a couple of hours we have still been in total drought this winter. Like Dave I have done a full saturation with my drip system three times this winter so far.

    So if you aren't waterering in between the freezing temps as these spurts shoot up into the high 60's, you probably are getting some needle burn. And remember the needles don't react when the damage is being done, it is usually quite a while after. That's why you so often hear once you see the damage, it's many times too late.

    So far it looks like your tips are showing minor damage and pretty typical for trees growing in the worst heat and drought times of state history. Just make sure they are getting enough water though. And for us that means slow deep soak type watering, not too often. We don't want them sitting in soaking wet clay all winter.

    Mark

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