White Pine needs your help

[Walter]

A glorious 70 foot tall White Pine has become sick over the winter with all its needles turning brown. It is located on an island in Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada and is well removed from civilization, salt, etc.. No other trees on the island - or the area for that matter - display this condition.

Is this the work of a pine beetle? If yes, what to do? If not, what has caused this and is there hope?

[brooklyn1]

[brooklyn1]

At 70' it's a pretty old white pine, probably dying of old age. I have dozens of huge old white pine on my property, some have fallen and are rotting away right beside younger specimens. White pine can live 300 years but that would be exceptional, typically they live 125-150 years. Not every tree dies of sickness.

[Walter]

Agreed. But in this rugged environment few tend to die of old age and it is rare to see a whole tree go entirely brown over the course of one winter. Any other suggestions?

[D. Staples]

Not enough information to tell, but, pine bark beetles leave sign on the bark, and under the bark. Knowing a little of the history of the crown might help. Did it turn red limb by limb, or all of a sudden? Any lightning strike evidence on the tree? Wind throw? Anything?

[hubops]

What about lake water levels ? Could the low lake levels, over the past several years, have stressed it ? A local conservation authority might be a better source of information - they might even send out a tree-person to have a look. John T

[Bill]

When our White pines encounter beetles or what ever they die from the top down slowly . Not much to do about it but plant a few others seedlings that I scatter about. Two 70 foot pines planted across the street in 1960 still have one about 70 foot tall and 25 foot babies about . I'd hazard a guess that our black oak forest will be pine in time.

Bill

[brooklyn1]

Well, you did say "No other trees on the island - or the area for that matter - display this condition."

It bothers me that you didn't say No other *white pine* trees on the island - or the area for that matter - display this condition... makes me think that was the only white pine there... so there would be no way to tell if others were affected similarly or not affected at all... there would be no control... typically if there's a disease, and especially and insect infestation, then all the same trees (and perhaps others) would be similarly affected. If that is the only one then I definitely stand by my original theory, old age... even though there could be other reasons. Do you have any decent pictures? Perhaps you could ask a local arborist.

I happen to have some photos of a few of my large white pines, the larger ones are growing in the forest:

I walked into the woods about 100 feet where I came upon a long dead white pine that is slowly decaying... further back to the right there's a perfectly healthy white pine: 's another dead white pine near a perfectly healthy speciment: I count all the smaller white pine, those like 20, 30, 40 feet tall I must have thousands, and I couldn't begin to guess how many seedlings/saplings. There's a stand of smaller white pine across the field I just mowed: are a few I quicky picked out from about a hundred I snapped Aug.

2007... I really can't say why I snapped all those pictures except that at the moment they looked interesting and I always have my camera with me when I go out to work the fields, never know what interesting critters I'll meet up with and without a picture folks may not believe. I'm sure my big white pines died of old age, were there a disease all the rest would be dead too. Every year I'm met with trees of all kinds that have recently died and fallen. And there're always a few that fall into where I mow so I have to come back with the chain saw. I never have nothing to do.

[Bill]

Worth a look.

If you like the music check out Wim Merten close and full of wonder.

Bill