White Pine In Stress| Blister Rust

sftong · 6th January 2011, 06:53 AM

Hello helpers and arborists!

I really need help in planting a white pine or a Blue spruce. I had planted many of them, and I would say about 50% die on me after 1 ~3 years (but most of the dead ones died after 3 years). However the Norway spruce has 100% survival rate, and all these spruces/pines are only a few feet from each other.

My urgent need is the white pine as seen in the pictures. Its bottom branches seems dying, albeit slowly. After planting this tree in Sept 2009, it started showing some stress (light brownish leaves) around July 2010, and I just kept watering more (like 2~3 times a week, each watering time vary around 20 minutes with a garden hose place at the root, and it typically seems flooded around the root in the end) and the stress went away after a couple weeks.

But toward end of Oct, this watering technique did not seem working well, and there is a part of branch died at the lower right in the picture. Because it's already Autum, so I water once or twice a week. Slowly, the braches all around the bottom die! Watering is not useful anymore and now is winter.

Are these insect or bacteria infestation? I spread some systemic insecticide, as well as insectice that work on contact during the autumn 2010, but nothing seem to help.

1) What's your opinion or diagnosis on the root cause? Any solution now and for coming spring? I live in Ohio.

2) When I planted this white pine, I also planted the other one which was like 30 feet away and that one has died in summer 2010 due to some bugs or beetles I saw infesting the main braches and causing holes on it. I wonder if this dying one has anything to do with that infested tree? But I cannot see any infestation on this one.

3) Some tree planters are giving me different advices on planting trees. Some said the tree bulb should level with the ground, while some said the tree bulb should be planted slightly higher than the ground to allow drainage. I planted all trees slightly above ground.

Many Thanks!!
Sean

sftong · 6th January 2011, 06:56 AM

By the way, these pictures are taken around 1/1/2011.

Eric Frei · 6th January 2011, 06:53 PM

Whilst I am no expert with pines I do know a bit via being on this forum and seeing many similar cases.

I think it's fungal of some sorts, some type of blight perhaps.

Insecticide does bugger all to fungi, you need a fungicide, likely a systemic, likely copper based.

I would suggest you prune off back to the trunk but do not flush cut to the trunk the dead/infected branches. Probably would have needed it down the track anyway (the pruning that is), called a crown lift.... gets foliage up off the ground.

Now the thing I see in the picture is how healthy the top is in comparison to the bottom.

Can you see that? Good, if not see an optometrist.

Now when it's root damage or drought it's usually the top of the tree that dies back first.

I reckon with a preventative spraying of fungicide, pruning and some good care it will be OK. Now looking at the other trees in the pic I see mulch volcanoes

.... you should mulch 2" to 4" thick, keep mulch away from the trunk by say 6" and mulch as wide as you can. I see your new tree has grass beneath it's foliage, not the best.

Some soil additives that are natural seaweed style stuff like our Seasol here are great, add that to the soil when watering.

sftong · 7th January 2011, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Frei

I would suggest you prune off back to the trunk but do not flush cut to the trunk the dead/infected branches. Probably would have needed it down the track anyway (the pruning that is), called a crown lift.... gets foliage up off the ground.

Thank you so much Eric!

So I guess you mean pruning the dead branches all the way as close possible to the main trunk to stop the fungus infestation, and then spray some fungicide? Do you think spreading fungicide now during winter (0 ~ -10 C temperature) is a good idea or should I wait till Spring?

By the way, you got a sharp eye! That tree at the background with volcano mulch is not mine but belong to the community. My property line stop right behind that troubled tree. As you can see, those community trees all planted with the bulb like 6 inches above ground, versus mine which is probably just 2 inches.

Thanks again Eric. Really appreciate your help.

newguy18 · 7th January 2011, 04:16 AM

I agree with Eric,but would like to add a couple of things,i would remove the grass under the tree,to outside the canopy line,also have a pH test of the soil done,your county extension agent should provide this service,usually for free.

Eric Frei · 7th January 2011, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sftong

Do you think spreading fungicide now during winter (0 ~ -10 C temperature) is a good idea or should I wait till Spring?

Oh, that's friggin cold! Even the fungi will be hibernating.

I think fungi start to wake up around 15C, mold can be lower. The boom temps for mold, bacteria and fungi is around 18C to 30C.

Copper oxychlodide is not systemic.

Could also be winter damage. Prune the dead out in Spring though.

Protecting Trees and Shrubs Against Winter Damage

Quote:

Cold Damage

Cold temperatures can damage plants in several ways. Plants that are not hardy in Minnesota will be killed or injured during the winter unless protected in a microclimate. Plants that normally grow in hardiness zone 3 (northern Minnesota) and hardiness zone 4 (southern Minnesota) may also be injured if winter conditions are abnormally severe or if plants have been stressed by the environment. Injury is more prevalent and more severe when low temperatures occur in early fall or late spring, when there is little or no snow cover during the winter or when low temperatures are of prolonged duration. Pronounced fluctuations in temperature can be extremely detrimental to plants throughout the fall, winter, or spring.

Quote:

Winter Discoloration of Evergreens

Browning or bleaching of evergreen foliage during winter occurs for four reasons:

1. Winter sun and wind cause excessive transpiration (foliage water loss) while the roots are in frozen soil and unable to replace lost water. This results in desiccation and browning of the plant tissue.

2. Bright sunny days during the winter also cause warming of the tissue above ambient temperature which in turn initiates cellular activity. Then, when the sun is quickly shaded, foliage temperature drops to injurious levels and the foliage is injured or killed.

3. During bright, cold winter days, chlorophyll in the foliage is destroyed (photo-oxidized) and is not resynthesized when temperatures are below 28° F. This results in a bleaching of the foliage.

4. Cold temperatures early in the fall before plants have hardened off completely or late spring after new growth has occurred can result in injury or death of this nonacclimated tissue.

Foliar damage normally occurs on the south, southwest, and windward sides of the plant, but in severe cases the whole plant may be affected. Yew, arborvitae, and hemlock are most susceptible, but winter browning can affect all evergreens. New transplants or plants with succulent, late season growth are particularly sensitive.

There are several ways to minimize winter injury to evergreens. The first is proper placement of evergreens in the landscape. Yew, hemlock, and arborvitae should not be planted on south or southwest sides of buildings or in highly exposed (windy, sunny) places. A second way to reduce damage is to prop pine boughs or Christmas tree greens against or over evergreens to protect them from wind and sun and to catch more snow for natural protection.

Winter injury can often be prevented by constructing a barrier of burlap or similar material on the south, southwest, and windward sides of evergreens. If a plant has exhibited injury on all sides, surround it with a barrier, but leave the top open to allow for some air and light penetration.

Keeping evergreens properly watered throughout the growing season and into the fall is another way to reduce winter injury. Never stress plants by under- or overwatering. Decrease watering slightly in September to encourage hardening off, then water thoroughly in October until freeze-up. Watering only in late fall does not help reduce injury.

Anti-desiccant and anti-transpirant sprays are often recommended to prevent winter burn. Most studies, however, have shown them to be ineffective.

If an evergreen has suffered winter injury, wait until mid-spring before pruning out injured foliage. Brown foliage is most likely dead and will not green up, but the buds, which are more cold hardy than foliage, will often grow and fill in areas where brown foliage was removed. If the buds have not survived, prune dead branches back to living tissue. Fertilize injured plants in early spring and water them well throughout the season. Provide appropriate protection the following winter.

gooddog · 7th January 2011, 02:15 PM

I grew up on a christmas tree farm and by looking at the picture, thats not winter burn. If it was, much of the tree would look slightly brown, usually more on one side. About the only thing that would go after the white pine was "white pine blister rust" (cronartium ribicola). I have 14 year old trees that will still get this and kill the tree. If a branch gets injured, then gets the rust, it will work its way to the trunk. If you can cut the injured branch before it reaches the trunk, you can save the tree. If I was you, I'd cut all the brown out and don't over water. It's a fungus, but needs a pine and an alternate host to complete its life cycle (gooseberry and currant). Cool and damp makes it worse for this so it's worse up north.

gooddog · 7th January 2011, 02:24 PM

Forteen years ago, I planted 500 White pine as a 3 row wind break on two sides of my property. I probably lost about 8 trees to the blister rust. I remember as a kid having to dig out every gooseberry bush we could find around the tree farm. Get rid of the host, get rid of the fungus.

sftong · 8th January 2011, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gooddog

... "white pine blister rust" (cronartium ribicola)...

Thank You Good, Eric and newguy.

Seems like this is a fungus, and yes, it seems like a blister rust because this tree infections first appear in late summer. I mean, all through summer it was stress and need lots of water to turn the brown leaves back to greenish. But since late summer 2010, a portion at the bottom right just seem to die off regardless of watering amount, and now it seems to spread all around the bottom.

Good, is there any fungicide that you can recommend?

Many thanks!

gooddog · 8th January 2011, 08:10 AM

I'm looking in my US Dept of Agriculture Christmas Tree Pest Manual now. It says to remove any flagging (small patches of brown) and cankers before August. Also rid your area from alt. host plants. Remove and destroy any trees that have trunk cankers. Avoid planting new trees in high-hazard northern areas. Unlike other tree problems, no sprays etc. are listed for this problem.

I have a problem with my blue spruce trees. It's called: Rhizosphaera Needlecast (Rhizosphaera kalkhoffii). It also is a fungus that kills branches starting from the bottom. I'm cutting some out and planting norway spruce or fraiser fir in their place. I should cut out about 150 trees right now.

Brent Ferris · 8th January 2011, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newguy18

I agree with Eric,but would like to add a couple of things,i would remove the grass under the tree,to outside the canopy line,also have a pH test of the soil done,your county extension agent should provide this service,usually for free.

I agree with Eric and Newguy. White Pine will grow in zone 3 in Canada (which is 1 zone colder than zone 3 in US) so I doubt cold is a problem. Overwatering might be, White pine usually grows on sandy mineral soils dry-fresh moisture conditions. Hard to tell what kind of soil your tree is growing on, but in my experience, white pine doesn't do too well on clay - it will grow but never very well -- except when it is young. Overwatering also enhances fungal growth, and while there are some fungi that grow in cold weather, I don't think white pine blister rust is one of them. As Gooddog mentions, white pine blister rust needs a host to grow and start, and if you can eliminate the primary host (within about 1 mile of your trees), future plantings should be ok. There is usually no harm in trimming the infected stock back at this time of year (if you're not buried in snow) since the fungus should be dormant, and spreading of spores is minimized. You are then free to apply a fungicide in the spring when the best weather comes around, along with all the other tasks to do then, Good luck!

Eric Frei · 9th January 2011, 01:58 PM

Here's some great info on it, I also attached PDF version of same.

White Pine Blister Rust

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/wihort/gardenfacts/X1118.pdf

I also have loaded up a PDF about testing of fungicides ... limited effect.

I also think we'll add this thread to the facts forum.

6th January 2011, 06:53 AM	#1
sftong I'm new here so be nice Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Columbus OH Posts: 4	White Pine In Stress\| Blister Rust Hello helpers and arborists! I really need help in planting a white pine or a Blue spruce. I had planted many of them, and I would say about 50% die on me after 1 ~3 years (but most of the dead ones died after 3 years). However the Norway spruce has 100% survival rate, and all these spruces/pines are only a few feet from each other. My urgent need is the white pine as seen in the pictures. Its bottom branches seems dying, albeit slowly. After planting this tree in Sept 2009, it started showing some stress (light brownish leaves) around July 2010, and I just kept watering more (like 2~3 times a week, each watering time vary around 20 minutes with a garden hose place at the root, and it typically seems flooded around the root in the end) and the stress went away after a couple weeks. But toward end of Oct, this watering technique did not seem working well, and there is a part of branch died at the lower right in the picture. Because it's already Autum, so I water once or twice a week. Slowly, the braches all around the bottom die! Watering is not useful anymore and now is winter. Are these insect or bacteria infestation? I spread some systemic insecticide, as well as insectice that work on contact during the autumn 2010, but nothing seem to help. 1) What's your opinion or diagnosis on the root cause? Any solution now and for coming spring? I live in Ohio. 2) When I planted this white pine, I also planted the other one which was like 30 feet away and that one has died in summer 2010 due to some bugs or beetles I saw infesting the main braches and causing holes on it. I wonder if this dying one has anything to do with that infested tree? But I cannot see any infestation on this one. 3) Some tree planters are giving me different advices on planting trees. Some said the tree bulb should level with the ground, while some said the tree bulb should be planted slightly higher than the ground to allow drainage. I planted all trees slightly above ground. Many Thanks!! Sean Attached Thumbnails

6th January 2011, 06:56 AM	#2
sftong I'm new here so be nice Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Columbus OH Posts: 4	Re: White Pine In Stress! By the way, these pictures are taken around 1/1/2011.

6th January 2011, 06:53 PM	#3
Eric Frei Admin - Owner Palm & Tree Services in Brisbane Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,993	Re: White Pine In Stress! Whilst I am no expert with pines I do know a bit via being on this forum and seeing many similar cases. I think it's fungal of some sorts, some type of blight perhaps. Insecticide does bugger all to fungi, you need a fungicide, likely a systemic, likely copper based. I would suggest you prune off back to the trunk but do not flush cut to the trunk the dead/infected branches. Probably would have needed it down the track anyway (the pruning that is), called a crown lift.... gets foliage up off the ground. Now the thing I see in the picture is how healthy the top is in comparison to the bottom. Can you see that? Good, if not see an optometrist. Now when it's root damage or drought it's usually the top of the tree that dies back first. I reckon with a preventative spraying of fungicide, pruning and some good care it will be OK. Now looking at the other trees in the pic I see mulch volcanoes .... you should mulch 2" to 4" thick, keep mulch away from the trunk by say 6" and mulch as wide as you can. I see your new tree has grass beneath it's foliage, not the best. Some soil additives that are natural seaweed style stuff like our Seasol here are great, add that to the soil when watering. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Palm and Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

7th January 2011, 04:16 AM	#5
newguy18 Part of the Furniture Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: orlando,fl Posts: 4,948	Re: White Pine In Stress! I agree with Eric,but would like to add a couple of things,i would remove the grass under the tree,to outside the canopy line,also have a pH test of the soil done,your county extension agent should provide this service,usually for free. __________________ Have your say join us today. old schooler

7th January 2011, 02:15 PM	#7
gooddog Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: USA Wisconsin Posts: 72	Re: White Pine In Stress! I grew up on a christmas tree farm and by looking at the picture, thats not winter burn. If it was, much of the tree would look slightly brown, usually more on one side. About the only thing that would go after the white pine was "white pine blister rust" (cronartium ribicola). I have 14 year old trees that will still get this and kill the tree. If a branch gets injured, then gets the rust, it will work its way to the trunk. If you can cut the injured branch before it reaches the trunk, you can save the tree. If I was you, I'd cut all the brown out and don't over water. It's a fungus, but needs a pine and an alternate host to complete its life cycle (gooseberry and currant). Cool and damp makes it worse for this so it's worse up north.

7th January 2011, 02:24 PM	#8
gooddog Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: USA Wisconsin Posts: 72	Re: White Pine In Stress! Forteen years ago, I planted 500 White pine as a 3 row wind break on two sides of my property. I probably lost about 8 trees to the blister rust. I remember as a kid having to dig out every gooseberry bush we could find around the tree farm. Get rid of the host, get rid of the fungus.

8th January 2011, 08:10 AM	#10
gooddog Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: USA Wisconsin Posts: 72	Re: White Pine In Stress! I'm looking in my US Dept of Agriculture Christmas Tree Pest Manual now. It says to remove any flagging (small patches of brown) and cankers before August. Also rid your area from alt. host plants. Remove and destroy any trees that have trunk cankers. Avoid planting new trees in high-hazard northern areas. Unlike other tree problems, no sprays etc. are listed for this problem. I have a problem with my blue spruce trees. It's called: Rhizosphaera Needlecast (Rhizosphaera kalkhoffii). It also is a fungus that kills branches starting from the bottom. I'm cutting some out and planting norway spruce or fraiser fir in their place. I should cut out about 150 trees right now. __________________ I'll be fine if my body holds out.

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