Help! Dying pine/conifer

10 years ago

I have a row of 5 evergreens, not sure of species.

One of the trees in between two others has begun to wither on one side...like a drying out Christmas tree. The other side is still fine, but it looks the "wither" is creeping across. This particular tree gets about the same amount of sunlight as its neighbors. We have had some rain...we certainly endured worse dry spells last summer.

Pictures are attached. Any ideas on what is causing this? Is it recoverable? Are there things I should look for as potential causes? Are the other trees in the row at risk?

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Comments (7)

maxxjr
Original Author
10 years ago
Another picture...
famartin
10 years ago
Looks like the species is one of the Arborvitae genus, and the problem appears to be bagworms. See link for an idea of what you can do (assuming I'm correct about species and problem, and assuming the people who wrote the page on the link have a clue what their talking about)

Here is a link that might be useful: Bagworms on Arbovitae
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mulchmama
10 years ago
Wow, check out the huge bagworm bags on the one next to it! You can't treat them when they're that big because the pesticide won't penetrate their bag, but you can pick them off. You need to do it before they hatch in late spring next year, or they will emerge and defoliate the tree they're attached to.

Contact your local Extension Service to find out the estimated time they will emerge. That's when you begin to treat, and Bt is an excellent thing to use for them. You will have to treat about every five days for several weeks, as they don't emerge all at once. It's a good idea to remove as many of the bags as you can now, or you'll be spraying a lot more next year. That's a terrible infestation.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
maxx....have you not noticed the zillions of little 'bags' hanging all over your trees? They've killed one plant and are moving on to the healthier specimens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Take a look at these bagworms!
mulchmama
10 years ago
Well, if you aren't familiar with bagworms, it's easy to either not notice the bags or assume they're part of the tree. That's how bagworms survive -- camo!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
the tree peeps rocked this conifer question.. congrats ...

and.. as OP notes.. not all conifers are pines .... and get this.. this conifer will have Thuja cones .... arb cones.. not pine cones ...

just pick the bags off.. but research first.. when the bug is in the bag ... no use pulling them all off.. when they are out to dinner ... eh???

the affected one MIGHT.... its a long shot.. recover.. if you can stop the munching ... though it might take a year or two to fill back in ...

ken
maxxjr
Original Author
10 years ago
New home ... new issues. Haven't run into bagworms before. First...thanks for the quick responses! I am taking a break now around picking the darn things.

I am researching this a bit. Thought it might be good to ask here, too. Should I be spraying now to help the cause? The one post suggested spraying in the spring, but is that in addition to doing some spraying now?

Thanks again!