I have a 40' monkey tree which was here when I moved in 12 years ago. It has started to turn brown. Is there anything I can do or is it doomed? We live by haztic lake so the soil is clayish and very high water table. We havn't really done anything to it except trim so lower branches. I would love to save it if anyone has suggestions.
As Monkey Puzzle trees age they begin to drop there lower branches and their canopy fills to resemble a weird umbrella. I would compare with some pics from its native habitat and see if it is just doing its thing. For the most part this happens naturally but if you could post a pic the folks here may be able to help you further along. Look up 'Araucaria araucana' best of luck.
It seemed fine and we have lived here for about 16 years and while it didn't grow a lot, it always seemed healthy. It died in less than 2 months, the lower branches started going brown and it spread up the tree. We really only noticed it go brown in a month but it must have been sick for awhile as it is dead and the branches are tinder dry.
Have seen other established monkey puzzles in the area go south in recent years. Maybe there is something making the rounds here, there is supposed to be a pathogenic problem now in wild stands - although those are a long distance away, of course. Also if any recent weather events have caused your water table to go higher than it is most years that could have drowned your tree. Or maybe exposed it to a water mold infestation that then killed it later.
