I have been noticing that the trees in the Fraser Canyon BC Canada are turning Brown on the South side of the trees and I am not sure why... It's not just a couple of trees and others in the Canyon have noticed it as well and have been asking on Facebook only to find no one had any answers.... It's not all trees but it's not just one kind either... Any ideas on why it is happening would be greatly appreciated..
Are you sure it's always the south side? Could it be the side facing the road? Every year when there's lots of snow, road salt is a problem for plants along the roadside. A snow plow can throw salted slush a fair distance...
Yes I'm sure it is the south side and the road this tree is beside is a private one that doesn't get salted...
Sun and dry wind on foliage when the ground is hard frozen - the plant can't replace what the sun and wind evaporate from the leaves, because the ground water and water in the roots is frozen.
I would agree but it's not all trees just some and different kinds afaik... I'll be travelling this weekend and try to write down each kind and maybe take pictures as well...
Some trees are much more resistant to this sort of foliage burn than others. White pines (Pinus section Strobus) cope well with it, spruces less so - and some cultivars (like the juvenile-foliage dwarf Alberta Spruce in your pic above), even less well.
Thanks Michael. That's a possible explanation for the browning of my Limber Pines. The lower parts that still had some snow cover are still green. What are the chances of their survival? These are 10- 12 year old trees, 6" to 2' in height, grown from seed sold to me as p. flexilis, but by the Michael F lip test might be p.reflexa. Crazy weather here and getting stranger every year. Just a little above zero C for two or three weeks- enough to evaporate most of the snow cover- then a period of -20 to -30.
Depends on whether it is just the needles that are burnt, or the buds as well. If just the needles, then the prospects are good; it'll leaf out in spring and recover well, with just some slow-down in growth for a year or two. If the buds are damaged as well, then it won't do well.
