Hello,

Tree death over the winter can be due to an accumulation of stresses on the individual trees over several years. A close look at location, signs of damage, and knowing the history of flooding and droughts, may give you some ideas of what stresses are occurring. Look for a pattern- are all the dying trees in a low lying area, an area that is drier than elsewhere, more exposed to winds, in a different type of soil? Did these dead trees have the same amount of growth on their branches last year as the healthy surviving trees?

Pull back weeds and mulch to see if there are signs of rot or animals gnawing at the trunk. Examine the roots on the completely dead trees for rot, or are the roots small or restricted? The trees that are sprouting at the soil line still have live roots. If these are not grafted trees, in time these sprouts can grow into a new tree- you will want to remove the dead tops eventually and prune so that one vigorous sprout becomes the new tree.

I have attached an illustration of a twig showing leaf scar and yearly growth. If the dying trees had noticeably  less growth than surviving trees, this is a sign that they were stressed. ( Illustration credit: Alexandra Urza, Jason Sibold, “Nondestructive Aging of Postfire Seedlings for Four Conifer Species in Northwestern Montana”, Western Journal of Applied Forestry)

The contour of the land will have lower and higher areas. The lower areas are where the coldest air settles, and in winter these areas can be so much colder that the plants there do not survive. If these lower areas collect water and stay wet too long, roots can die.

Each tree is an individual, and some are weaker than others- these weaker growing trees can be affected by: competition with grass and weeds, and other trees; a severe cold spell in winter; drought in summer and fall; a period of flooded or too wet soils; or combinations of these things can eventually kill the tree.

You may hire a certified arborist who will come on site and examine the trees and give you an opinion on why these trees died; and a plan on how to minimize the risk of more trees dying. Find certified arborists by zip-code here- www.treesaregood.org

References- https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/SP615.pdf

https://extension.oregonstate.edu/forests/health-managment/why-are-my-trees-dying

I hope this discussion is helpful. Thanks for using our service.