Blue Atlas Cedar Turned Brown--Sapsucker Damage or Harsh Winter to Blame? - Ask Extension
Hi--We live in the Southeast corner of PA near MD. We planted 2 gorgeous ornamental Atlas Blue Cedars 13 year ago & they have thrived on ou...
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Blue Atlas Cedar Turned Brown--Sapsucker Damage or Harsh Winter to Blame? #174774
Asked April 13, 2014, 2:47 PM EDT
Hi--We live in the Southeast corner of PA near MD. We planted 2 gorgeous ornamental Atlas Blue Cedars 13 year ago & they have thrived on our front lawn until now. They are approx. 25' to 30' tall and are 65' apart. These trees are our pride & joy of our landscape. I especially am saddened that one or both may be dying.
Tree #1 Atlas Cedar's color appears slightly off--somewhat brownish, but still predominantly silvery blue.
Tree #2 Atlas is definitely browner and needles are dropping to the touch.
Although, the top 3' to 4' of that tree still appears silvery blue. Unfortunately we can not access that height to get a closer look
Our harsh winter temps were often below 0 w/wind chill factor. Daily temp. avg in teens/20's. Frequent snow and winter season totals are over 30".
Appox. 4-6 yrs ago we had similar winter weather conditions, but the Atlases thrived.
To add to this scenario--late last Fall we discoverd Sapsuckers/Woodpeckers had attacked both Atlas Cedar trees. We have a wooded lot & they picked our most prized trees! The browner tree has more damage--over 200 holes--rows spanning from lowest branches and upwards 6' on tree. We placed decoy owl scarecrows in the trees to keeps birds away & prevent further damage. But, now we're thinking we were probably too late.
Should we have done more to heal the holes? There was no visible sap--no oozing--holes just seemed to be on the surface of tree trunk.
Both trees appear to have same amount of holes/damage. We think this damage may have contributed to the tree dying. Is that right? Is there anything we can do now to save these trees?
Also, I should note, my neighbor also has an Atlas Cedar about 20 yrs old-approx 200' from ours & in his front yard too. His looks great.
We appreciate any advice you can provide.
Thanks,
Donna & Joe B.
Tree #1 Atlas Cedar's color appears slightly off--somewhat brownish, but still predominantly silvery blue.
Tree #2 Atlas is definitely browner and needles are dropping to the touch.
Although, the top 3' to 4' of that tree still appears silvery blue. Unfortunately we can not access that height to get a closer look
Our harsh winter temps were often below 0 w/wind chill factor. Daily temp. avg in teens/20's. Frequent snow and winter season totals are over 30".
Appox. 4-6 yrs ago we had similar winter weather conditions, but the Atlases thrived.
To add to this scenario--late last Fall we discoverd Sapsuckers/Woodpeckers had attacked both Atlas Cedar trees. We have a wooded lot & they picked our most prized trees! The browner tree has more damage--over 200 holes--rows spanning from lowest branches and upwards 6' on tree. We placed decoy owl scarecrows in the trees to keeps birds away & prevent further damage. But, now we're thinking we were probably too late.
Should we have done more to heal the holes? There was no visible sap--no oozing--holes just seemed to be on the surface of tree trunk.
Both trees appear to have same amount of holes/damage. We think this damage may have contributed to the tree dying. Is that right? Is there anything we can do now to save these trees?
Also, I should note, my neighbor also has an Atlas Cedar about 20 yrs old-approx 200' from ours & in his front yard too. His looks great.
We appreciate any advice you can provide.
Thanks,
Donna & Joe B.
Chester County Pennsylvania
Expert Response
Hello and thanks for
using the Ask an Expert System.
The browning damage to your trees is most likely due to winter burn which has been fairly common this winter. The sapsucker damage may also contribute to the problem. Sapsucker wounds that completely circle the tree can kill the part of the tree above the wounds. Any wound can become an entry point for infections.
You cannot do anything to accelerate the closure of the sapsucker wounds. If the damage is not too severe, the tree will close the wounds over time. You may want to supplement the owl decoy with hardware cloth wrapped around the area of the stem where the birds are attacking. Keep a close watch on the trees looking for any further bird damage. If you see any new damage apply repellant.
You can read more on winter burn at this web site http://blogs.extension.org/gardenprofessors/2014/04/14/feel-the-burn/
If you have additional questions you should contact the Chester County Master Gardener Hotline. For information on the Chester County Master Gardener Hotline go to http://extension.psu.edu/plants/master-gardener/counties/chester/hotline
Chester County Penn State Extension
Address: 601 Westtown Road, Suite 370, Government Services Center, West Chester, PA 19380-0990
Phone:<personal data hidden>
E-mail: <personal data hidden>
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
The browning damage to your trees is most likely due to winter burn which has been fairly common this winter. The sapsucker damage may also contribute to the problem. Sapsucker wounds that completely circle the tree can kill the part of the tree above the wounds. Any wound can become an entry point for infections.
You cannot do anything to accelerate the closure of the sapsucker wounds. If the damage is not too severe, the tree will close the wounds over time. You may want to supplement the owl decoy with hardware cloth wrapped around the area of the stem where the birds are attacking. Keep a close watch on the trees looking for any further bird damage. If you see any new damage apply repellant.
You can read more on winter burn at this web site http://blogs.extension.org/gardenprofessors/2014/04/14/feel-the-burn/
If you have additional questions you should contact the Chester County Master Gardener Hotline. For information on the Chester County Master Gardener Hotline go to http://extension.psu.edu/plants/master-gardener/counties/chester/hotline
Chester County Penn State Extension
Address: 601 Westtown Road, Suite 370, Government Services Center, West Chester, PA 19380-0990
Phone:<personal data hidden>
E-mail: <personal data hidden>
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
