Blue spruce: needles turn yellow, why? Why did the spruce turn yellow. Why the needles turn yellow What to do if the blue spruce turns yellow


Today it is fashionable to plant coniferous trees at their summer cottage. Some owners are trying to grow a real conifer or alley from evergreens, while others believe that it is better to plant one pine, but next to the house, in order to arrange a noisy round dance around the tree on New Year's Eve. Sorrows come when the beautiful pine tree suddenly begins to lose its attractiveness. Why do pine needles turn yellow? Is the tree sick and dying? What to do? How to save a pine tree? The answer to the question must be sought from the very beginning, from the moment the tree was purchased.

Question about planting a pine tree

Having decided to change the landscape of the site with evergreen trees, the owner must remember some points:

  • when buying a tree, you need to look at the intensity of the color of the needles: choose a seedling with a bright fresh green crown;
  • give preference to specimens with a branched root system, moreover, the roots must be "live". An experienced seller, in an effort to preserve a pine seedling, usually wraps the roots with a damp cloth and fine mesh.
  • with special care you need to choose a place for the future evergreen pet: it must be open. Trees should not be planted next to each other. Spreading pine tree: crown girth reaches from 3 to 5 meters.
  • Compliance with the following agrotechnical rules will not interfere:
  • if the soil on the site is heavy, black earth, then a loose composition should be prepared with the addition of sand;
  • the root neck should not protrude above the ground; it must be excessively deepened and covered with soil;
  • after transplanting, the top layer of soil must be mulched to prevent the soil from drying out and slow down the growth of weeds.

From the experience of gardeners

Experienced gardeners, having planted a forest beauty, notice the slightest changes in her condition, and are advised to immediately start fighting for the tree. At the height of summer, the tips of the needles acquire a brownish tint. This is a signal: the tree is sick, it is dying, but attempts can still be made to save it.

The young seedling suffers from a lack of moisture, and therefore the first measure will be regulated watering:

  • water the seedling should be infrequent, but plentiful;
  • any plant is best watered in the early morning;
  • with the onset of the first autumn frosts, the pine should be watered abundantly: moist soil will help it survive the cold winter. And only as the root system grows, the pine becomes drought-resistant.

A mountain copy should be periodically sprayed with a growth-stimulating drug.

All measures are taken, but the pine planted on the site turns yellow. What is the reason? Scientists have determined that, pine or spruce needles can live up to five years, then it falls off. Those who have been in a real coniferous forest remember that the earth in it is covered with a dried carpet of pine needles. So in the fall, a yellowed specimen should not cause much concern: this is a common natural phenomenon. The needles on the lower branches of the tree turn yellow, moreover, the tips of the branches and the upper branches still amaze with bright greenery. So that the tree does not lose its decorative effect, experts advise cutting off the lower dry branches. You need to work carefully so as not to damage the pine trunk.


New chores

The pine turned yellow on the site:

  • Even on young branches, the needles turned orange with a reddish tint, moreover, the branches are covered with yellowness from the very top, in general, almost half of the crown has turned brown.
  • A diseased tree "weeps": it releases resin.

An anxious feeling arises in the gardener, who noticed that the tree, in spite of all measures, dries. It may die. What to do? First you need to understand what is happening with the tree. Looking closely at the pine trunk, you can see small holes in which pests hide - bark beetles and beetles. They make moves, moving inside the branches, and wear down the wood fibers to such an extent that they turn them into "flour", but only brown. Noticing bark beetles in time, the pine tree can be saved by applying insecticides. If a significant outbreak is found on a tree, then a professional forester should be invited to fight pests with drugs that cannot be found in free trade.

Pine leaf fall. What is the reason?

Being alone with a pine disease is a little scary, so the owners post letters of doubt on social networks. The most common question is: “What reasons can be hidden in the wilting of pine trees? What to do if the pine turned yellow? Experts who have been growing pine trees for more than one move respond to these letters and give two good reasons:

  1. Usually a tree is planted with a clod of earth. While the sun warms the pine branches, its roots are dormant and do not absorb moisture, and therefore the tree suffers. Speaking in the language of specialists, then the evaporation of moisture by the crown exceeds the intake. It should be noted that the specimen also suffers from a lack of nutrients.
  2. The second reason is associated with the presence of microflora in a pine tree - fungi, which can interfere with the growth process.


Schutte's disease

It is not difficult to plant a coniferous tree, it is much more difficult to learn to understand coniferous diseases, but the symptoms of Schutte rust are easy to remember:

  • the appearance of red or brown needles is already alarming;
  • if the needles crumble when touched by a branch, these are the first symptoms of the disease;
  • brown spots appeared on the trunk - the disease progresses. This is also indicated by the changed appearance of the tree.

Fallen needles contribute to the spread of the disease, by the way, even a few affected needles can contribute to the development of the disease, therefore, in autumn and spring, preventive measures are needed for a plot with coniferous trees. In winter, an experienced owner scatters peat chips or ash right across the snow, as the fungus lives and multiplies even under snow cover. This reduces the risk of "catching" Schutte in the spring.

Cultivation of coniferous trees is an exciting activity. Even one pine tree can turn a summer cottage into a Garden of Eden.

In autumn, coniferous plants can observe such a phenomenon as coniferous fall. The needles turn yellow, dry out, plants, especially arborvitae with a rare crown, begin to look frightening, as if struck by some kind of terrible disease. However, this should not be scared, this is a normal process. All evergreen conifers have needles that live from 2 to 5 years, depending on the plant. After this time, the needles die off, become yellow or red and dry out.

Therefore, every autumn in dry weather, you should help your plant get rid of dead needles, shake the branches where your hand reaches, you can remove dead needles with a gloved hand. You can use a hard broom for cleaning.

Especially strong coniferous fall can be observed in container crops, which are more likely to suffer from a lack of water or nutrition. Yellowing begins in September, reaching its peak in October (in the middle lane).

In a dense crown, outwardly, you can not see signs of coniferous fall, so do not be lazy and push the branches apart, look inside the crown of your plant and remove dead needles.

If you do not clean from dead needles, in spring, dead needles can become a hotbed for the development of various diseases, especially fungal, insects that can completely destroy the plant.

How to distinguish a diseased plant from coniferous fall. Firstly, dead needles are easily separated from the plant, and secondly, young green needles usually grow next to dead needles, especially in thuja. Thirdly, coniferous fall occurs only in autumn.

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Spruces are unpretentious shade-tolerant plants; For good growth, they require proper planting in fertile soil. Young spruce seedlings suffer when planted in dry calcareous soil with a shallow fertile layer; in drought need watering. The needles of young trees may turn yellow from stagnant melt and rainwater, especially if, when planting in poorly permeable water and air, a thick (20 cm) drainage layer was not laid, or the root neck of the tree was deepened or raised relative to the soil surface.
Garden conifers tolerate frost worse than their natural relatives, especially young trees. Blue spruce can suffer from late autumn and early spring frosts. The first two years after planting, it is recommended to cover young trees with spruce branches and snow.
Coniferous plants are harmed by a variety of fungal diseases, from which the needles turn yellow and fall off. New biologics will help against them, and in their absence, a double treatment with foundationazole (10 g per 10 liters of water) with an interval of 10 days.
To restore the immunity of plants, spraying is used until recovery with the preparations "Epin-extra", "Epin", "Zircon".

Ziborova E.Yu.

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Before the onset of winter, the thuja and some other conifers change the color of the needles. This is a common seasonal phenomenon that has nothing to do with plant disease.

When does the needle change?

In autumn, many conifers change the color of the crown, the needles fall off. The change in its color occurs in conditions of lower air temperature in September-November. This is quite normal and should not be scary. Cooling is a signal for most conifers (juniper, microbiota, thuja, pine, etc.). Their needles begin to turn yellow, acquire a bronze or other shade. For example, in autumn the beautiful green needles of the popular microbiota cross-pair turns brown noticeably. The crown of some species of thuja seems rusty-brown for another reason. This is an abundance of half-open cones with ripe seeds.

Some conifers almost do not change the color of the needles in autumn. At pseudo-hemzies the general appearance of the tree at this time remains almost the same. Its needles live for a long time, up to eight years. Our green Christmas trees also “molt” almost imperceptibly, their old needles are only slightly different in color. They fall off no earlier than after 5 years. The loss of part of the needles is sometimes jokingly called "autumn needle fall". This phenomenon is explained by the fact that the needles live in different plants on average from three to eight years. Some cultures take longer. When "their service life" ends, they change their former color to a greater or lesser extent and fall off. Any changes in the decoration of coniferous trees are alarming. They are evergreen! In most cases, there is no need to worry. New needles will definitely appear, and the tree will not cease to be evergreen.

autumn needles

The needles of pines and firs fall more from skeletal branches and from the trunk, especially in the very depths of the crown. In many species of thuja, the entire crown turns yellow. More intense in the part that is closer to the central trunk. There is less light. Both individual needles and entire branches fall off. In many junipers, spruces and pseudo-hemlocks, part of the needles die off by winter. Before that, it becomes gray-gray, so the general appearance of the tree does not deteriorate. Yes, and the change of outfit is gradual. Pea-bearing cypress often loses entire branches, which before that turn very red.

When growing conifers, sometimes in the fall it seems that the plant is “drying out” from the inside. This is due to the fact that much more old needles turn yellow and fall off in the depths of the crown. This condition is clearly visible in pines, cypresses and thujas.

Conifers in an autumn park in France also turn yellow

What to do?

The crown of conifers should be regularly freed from crumbling needles. This is easy to do by wearing a thick glove on your hand. I remove the needles with a strong jet of water from a hose. Otherwise, it will interfere with the appearance of young needles and accumulate in places where the branches fork. A lot of needles always accumulate under a tree. If it does not interfere with other plants, then the needles can not be swept. It gradually rots and becomes a natural mulch. Of course, with any suspicion associated with the presence of diseases or pests, the fallen needles must be removed.

Other reasons

Unfortunately, changing the color of the needles may also indicate some problems. For example, needles are damaged by brown shyutte. Such a tree does not restore its typical color in spring. He needs to be treated. To do this, use kartotsid or Bordeaux mixture. Processing is carried out several times (until complete recovery) with an interval of two weeks. There is another reason for the possible fall of yellowed needles. This is aphids. Spraying with karbofos in early spring helps. In the middle of summer, they are treated with Actellik or Rogor-S. For any suspicion of a fungal infection of conifers, fundazol, HOM, oxychom, ordan, cartocid or commander are used. All these are quite strong modern drugs. For prevention, trees can be treated with epin and zircon until the end of June.

Massive yellowing and falling of the needles sometimes indicates that the tree was planted incorrectly (for example, with a large depth). Or in the wrong place (for example, groundwater comes very close to the soil surface). To these factors, it is worth adding unsuitable acidity of the soil, and for some crops, an unnecessarily sunny and ventilated place. But all these painful conditions have nothing to do with natural discoloration and partial change of needles.

The role of regular watering is also great. Prolonged drought is the worst enemy of most conifers that grow in our areas. The needles often turn yellow due to starvation of plants. Especially due to lack of magnesium. Therefore, it is necessary to apply those balanced complex fertilizers that are intended specifically for coniferous crops.

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Gardeners often complain that conifers bought in a store or at an exhibition begin to turn yellow. Naturally, the question arises, what is the reason for this and how to help the plant?

Yellowing needles can be caused by various reasons. And first of them - the lack of watering. Seedlings in containers are overdried when stored in a store. Before selling, they are watered abundantly, but the small suction roots of the plant have already died, so this does not save the situation. Such seedlings suffer when planted in dry sandy soil (especially calcareous) with a shallow fertile layer. At first, they require regular and plentiful watering.

The second reason- late boarding. In late autumn, plants do not have time to take root, and the needles continue to evaporate moisture even in winter. Therefore, the plant is dehydrated, the needles turn yellow and dry.

Third reason- sunburn in winter and early spring. Why don't plants burn in summer? The fact is that in winter the bright sun's rays are reflected from the snow, which is why the illumination near the plant almost doubles. This is what causes burns. No wonder they arise from the south side. You can save coniferous plants by tying them with burlap or thick paper.

Fourth reason- fungal diseases. Biopreparations will help against them ( Alirin , Gamair , Fitosporin-M), and in their absence - double treatment with foundationazole (10 g per 10 liters of water) with an interval of 10 days. To restore the immunity of plants, spraying is used until recovery with drugs Epin-extra or "Zircon" .

Fifth reason- insect pests. For example, thuja aphid or Sitka spruce aphid. These are dangerous pests. Various types of arborvitae, prickly spruce, Serbian spruce, Sitka spruce, suffer from them. Aphids can be detected by holding up a piece of white paper and tapping on a branch. When it appears, repeated spraying of trees with potash soap, infusions of garlic, wormwood and other herbs is recommended.

Dirty-white to blackish caterpillars of the nocturnal nun butterfly up to 5 cm long eat the needles of the spruce completely. At the very first appearance, spraying with bitoxibacillin or drugs decis, karate.

Spider mite and spruce leafworm. It is necessary to spray with colloidal sulfur, infusions of dandelion or garlic. When a leafworm is damaged, the needles not only turn yellow, but are also braided with cobwebs, caterpillars (larvae) eating leaves are visible inside. Affected shoots must be repeatedly treated with a solution of liquid soap or removed. In case of severe insect infestation, chemical insecticidal preparations are used.

Do not despair if the needles have flown around a lot and most of the branches look bare. With proper care and regular watering, the plant can be saved. In advanced cases, the needles grow back the next year.


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