Have an older Monkey Tree (Monkey Puzzle Tree?) approximately 30 feet high with 20 foot base spread. Over the past year limbs started turning brown and dying from the base and working slowly up toward the top but presently stopped leaving only top third green. Info found on Google/Wikipedia showed pictures of very tall mature trees in South America with only the top third with limbs, the bottom 2/3rds or more bare; limbs stripped or having fallen off. Appears to be growing wild and not part of a mancured estate. Shorter trees were pictured separately having full green limbs to ground as ours was. Is this then normal? Could another large evergreen about 40 feet away be interfering with its roots? Can anything be done? If tree was poisoned, how would one know?
As you guessed from the pics of wild specimens, it's fairly normal. Time to start worrying is when the top branches start browning off.
Many Thanks Michael F! Should one cut the dead off asap to help it survive? Or, to ask it differently, can I leave them on without damaging it further? Assume that if the tree is actually on its way to dust, the top will also turn brown. If in-between life/death, what food might help it survive? James B.
You can cut off the dead wood if you want to, the tree will look nicer with it removed, but it won't hurt the tree to leave it if the work is too expensive / dangerous. Best thing for the tree is to make sure it isn't getting shaded by anything faster-growing; Monkey-puzzles need 100% full sun to do well.
