Evergreens Turning Brown?
Posted by John Penton on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at 10:20pm.Every spring we seem to always find dead, brown foliage on evergreen plants including pine, boxwood, spruce, fir, juniper, arborvitae and yew. The extent of the symptoms can vary from brown needle tips on one side of the plant, to one or two branches, to the whole tree or shrub. This brown foliage found on evergreens is a symptom of winter desiccation. Winter desiccation occurs when the amount of water lost by the foliage exceeds the amount picked up by the roots causing the leaves and needles to dry out and die. During winter months, photosynthetic processes are slowed, but evergreens continue to lose water at a higher rate than deciduous trees. Often you will notice that evergreen leaves and needles will hold their green color after the injury until warm spring temperatures. The affected leaves and needles will turn brown in late March and April. No immediate action should be taken with evergreen plants showing winter injury other than supplemental watering if conditions are dry. Evergreen trees with a small amount of needle loss may still have live buds within the damaged branch sections. These buds will send out new growth and eventually fill in the damaged sections. How can you prevent the damage caused by winter desiccation? Watering- The key to preventing winter desiccation is to maintain adequate soil moisture throughout the summer and into winter.
What should you do if you have noticed your evergreen trees and shrubs showing this winter injury?
Pruning- Wait until new growth in the spring begins before pruning out dead branches
Winter watering- With our dry winters in Nebraska it is often necessary to periodically water during the warm spells of fall and winter can help prevent this damage. This is especially important with evergreens that have been planted for less than a year.
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