Knowledgebase
Pines Browning at Top #668850
Asked July 26, 2020, 11:16 AM EDT
I have several pine trees (Austrian and Bosnian) that have some brown on the top of the tree. They are mature, large trees. There are a few other large pine trees with brown tops in the neighborhood as well. I tried to take photos, but I am not a photographer and the pictures don't really show the brown very well. My neighbors and I are getting concerned. We don't want to lose these big, beautiful trees. We already lost a small pinon pine this year. :(
El Paso County Colorado
Expert Response
You have a question about some brown on the tops of your Austrian and Bosnian pine trees. Your trees may have experienced frost or winter burn damage. If the damage is not extensive and the buds are still viable, needle drop and new growth can mask the injury.
Late October 2019, our area experienced a severe cold snap during warm fall weather. Many of our eastern Colorado trees were unprepared for this sudden drop in temperatures and had not gone dormant for winter protection. This event may have caused damage to your trees. We also had another freeze down to 14 degrees April 2020 after our trees were beginning to come out of dormancy, this may have caused further injury.
https://csfs.colostate.edu/2020/04/26/ponderosa-pines-spruce-may-exhibit-winter-burn-damage/
I have included information about, ‘Environmental Disorders of woody Plants’, please check the Frost injury section.
I have attached 2 pages from our ‘Insects and Diseases of Woody Plants in Colorado’ book. There are some nice pictures and information about Winter Damage of Evergreens.
You are welcome.
If the brown dated back to the springtime, I agree with Barbara that it is winter burn, but if the brown is just occuring now, Ips beetles may be the culpri: https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/ips-beetles-5-558/
