Maybe try a Master Gardener clinic or going directly to Extension, at one of its offices. Take a sample with you - in a plastic bag, in case you actually have something that could be spread around.

did you remove your pic???

i wonder about a 70 foot tree.. and how its lower branches... never trimmed.. could be in full sun????

ken

Ken, the lower branches keep growing wider and wider. Hence the full sun in the summer.
bboy, I have a master gardener neighbor - she thinks all my conifers are pine trees. Sigh.
trying again on the picture.

Yes, Master Gardeners are just people who have passed the course and will otherwise vary in knowledge and astuteness. So you might encounter someone at a clinic who knew your problem or you might not. Going directly to the Extension office yourself you would have access to all of its resources.

Ken, here is another picture . It fails to show how graceful and beautiful this tree is, but it kinda shows how fat it is.

bboy, you're right, of course. I was just griping. Sorry. I do appreciate your input.

That looks like a Cedrus deodara, but the leaves in the other picture are pine. 2 trees on far right look like pines to me.

wannabeGardnr, joking, right?

I don't think he is joking, the leaves in the other picture do look like a pine to me too.
And the most prominent cone in that picture looks to me like it's from a Douglas fir. So I presume the picture was taken underneath a pine and close to a Pseudotsuga menziesii.

Are you sure you posted the correct picture?
The second one indeed looks like Cedrus deodara to me.

This post was edited by liopleurodon on Sat, Mar 22, 14 at 18:08

Hi Liopleurodon. Thanks for joining in. The picture in question is of a Cedrus deodara branch taken under the same Cedrus Deodara tree. Really!
My apologies - I know that the picture is not that good. I checked the branches and see no pests, or anything to suggest disease. The healthy branches have the nice whorled needle look. I do have also have six Pseudotsuga menziesii too - hence the cone photobomb. anyway, there is a green carpet of Cedrus deodara needles under this tree on one side.

Himalayan cedar produces longer, more slender and pine-like needles than other Cedrus.

Sorry, I think I see it now; I think I was fooled by the optical illusion that it looked like some of the needles on the tree were on the ground too making them look longer than the P. menziesii cone.

I know that the eastern coast had a very severe winter, but did you on the west coast have serious cold spells too?

Here I found something about C. deodara needles falling off green due to severe cold

Here is a link that might be useful: Link

last pic ... where in relation to the orange car.. are the affected branches???

where are you ... did i miss that part ...

i dont really see and branches lacking needles in this pic ..

all conifers shed needles ... they usually only hang on for 1 to 3 years .. and as the tree grows... the oldest remain interior ... and those are the ones that are shed ...

shedding is increased by drought ... winter .. etc ... anything out of the ordinary ... but one thing i am sure i can rule out.. is recent transplant.. lol

was the driveway recently renovated.. is the garage a recent construction .... is reflected sun off the driveway relevant.. as in a tree was removed which shaded the driveway ...

anyway ... that plant looks sublime to my eye ... i dont know if a little needle shed is anything to worry about ... and if there is something wrong with it.. i have no clue how you would treat a monster of that size ...

ken

Hi Ken, the affected branches are behind the tree from this picture angle. This cedar sheds needles in fall, and the needles die on the tree first - and you're right, it's the interior needles. But now we have a carpet of green needles under a portion of the tree. House built in 1957 - with the garage, the driveway has needed replacing for a long, long time. Winter was drier than normal, we had a few cold days - down to the teens, nothing for a Cedrus deodara to worry about. The only concern is that we occasionally park behind the tree. You can see a little red pick up truck if you look closely. Soil compression probably not a good thing.

Liopleurodon - oh my gosh! That's it exactly - thanks for the link. Wow. One quadrant dropping a bunch of green needles with no (obvious) visual explanation. In my case, I think that the quadrant is northwest.
By the way, Ken: this time the needles are not interior (just to clarify) it's whole branches that are affected. Funny you call this a monster when my doug firs tower over this! :o) Good thing it's such a strong tree.

WannabeGardnr - Sorry if previous post came across as snark - it wasn't! I thought you might be joking since I mentioned a neighbor calling my conifers "pines".

Not at all. Note my name.

Note tree is going to get much larger than it is now over time, with a wide crown - there are other examples in the region over 100' tall.