I have a Himalayan pine, the needles of which continuously start to brown at the tip and eventually fall off. We have had here in the French alps (close to Grenoble, at 900 m altitude) two summers with very little rain, followed by winters with just as little snow fall (but with low temperatures). Otherwise, bark and needles do not show any obvious signs of illness. The tree is about 30 years old. Any suggestions what I might try to to heal the tree? It used to be a rather spectacular specimen. Hans-Peter http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hpw_snowflake/detail?.dir=/bf03&.dnm=d792.jpg&.src=ph http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hpw_snowflake/detail?.dir=/bf03&.dnm=37fe.jpg&.src=ph
I think you may want to show us some photos of the needles and the trunk of your Pine. Are the young needles turning brown on the tips and then falling off or is this happening to the older needles as well or both? Do you see any sap deposits on this tree or any splits, unusual fissures in the trunk or the branches with areas that appear to be discolored? Look at the bark of this tree closely and tell me if you see any frass, almost a fine sawdust looking ground up wood material emanating anywhere on the tree. Jim
Dear Jim, Looked at the trunk. No sap, no wound, or saw dust. Only the needles'tips are brown, and the needles do not fall off right away. Could a hard winter, with wind, have hurt them? A Himalayan pine should take a bit of frost. Hope the pictures I added to the original posting help. Hans-Peter
Hi Hans-Peter: I am not sure what is going on with your Pine. Yes, the browning of the needles could be due to lack of water and wind damage or both factors can be working against you. I am familiar with both Griffithii and Wallichiana. Both Pines here during the Winter will show some browning of the tips but generally only on the older needles. I would be more concerned if your needles started to turn a brown color and drop off relatively soon afterwards. I did not see any bark beetle damage to the trunk of this tree. Do you see any white colored scale insects on the needles or near where the needle bundles attach to the branches? Do you apply water to this Pine or do you let natural rainfall be your source for water? If you do water this tree do you ever deep water it? Just as a curious question, how far away from your pool is this Pine and can any water splashes or other water in the pool get near this Pine? I've seen chlorine damage make needles on Pines and other Conifers turn brown similar to this on both young and old needles is why I asked. Himalayan Pines can indeed take some cold but if there is not enough moisture in the ground they can still show signs of cold damage. Have you ever given this tree some fertilizer of any kind? Can any of the roots of this tree be seen at ground level or seen above ground? Work with me and we may come up with something but my worst fear was the bark beetles that have been hitting some forests in Europe the last few years. What are your native Pines for that area? Best regards, Jim