Any knowledge on pine trees?

Pydpiper

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Ok, shot in the dark here..
My backyard is enclosed with 40' pine trees, single row close together. When I bought my house they seemed to be pretty full, over the last few years the bottoms have been thinning out considerably, and I can't figure out why.
Could it be due to the needles collecting underneath? Do mature pines need any maintanance besides basic pruning? I would really hate to lose these things, they are a big part of why we chose this home..
Any advice would be appreciated, or guidance as to where to look.. :)
Thanks!
David
 

greenLED

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Pydpiper said:
the bottoms have been thinning out considerably

A shot in the dark? Maybe, but I got several lights in that field. ;)

What do you mean by "the bottoms"? Are you talking about the lower branches or the lower bole (stem).

Generally, as a tree grows taller, it's not cost-effective (from an energy standpoint) to maintain lower branches; the tradeoff between photosynthesis (production) and respiration (maintenance) are not worthwhile and the tree kills those branches.

Without more details I can't say if it's a physiological thing, or other reasons (pathogens).
 

Topper

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Are they "lodge Pines"? post a pic please. Lodge pines get tall, no limbs anywhere near the ground and have a very shallow Taproot very few root "runners" and not good to camp under or let them get close to your house. My last home (the one I loved) had alot of Lodge pines and they do blow down in strong winds.
Topper
 

greenLED

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Just thought of something. Are you sure they're pines? Some times people say "pine" to mean "conifer, so it could be anything from a Spruce to a Fir. :confused:
 

brickbat

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I've seen this happen in plantings of trees that are too close together. Basically, the lower limbs don't get enough sunlight for the tree to 'keep them on the payroll.'

Not much you can do at this point except to thin them, but the lower limbs will not grow back. Maybe think about thinning and planting another row.
 

Silviron

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I live in the middle of a huge pine forest... Mostly Ponderosa pines.

The taller they get the more they lose lower branches. Just a natural function. We have 'hundred footers' that are essentially bare of branches on the lower half..... or even higher.
 

raggie33

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i hate pine trees they always are the first to fall when we get ice storms last storm we lost like 9 of em thru here
 

rim74

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Silviron said:
I live in the middle of a huge pine forest... Mostly Ponderosa pines.

The taller they get the more they lose lower branches. Just a natural function. We have 'hundred footers' that are essentially bare of branches on the lower half..... or even higher.

Silviron
Ponderosa pine forest in New Mexico ? That wouldn't be the Lincoln National
Forest would it?
 

Pydpiper

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Here is un up close and distant shot, the bottoms used to be very full..
PICT0102.jpg

PICT0101.jpg
 

Flying Turtle

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Are those maybe Hemlocks? They do look like they're too close together to keep the low limbs. Most of the ones around here are Loblolly (longleaf) pine, but nearby we've got a few rare, for the area, Hemlocks on a steep north-facing slope.

Geoff
 

AlphaTea

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right behind you. LOOK!
Kind of hard to tell by the pics. Either Douglas Fir or Canadian (eastern) Hemlock.
If the cones are small, say less than 2 inches, then Hemlock.
Big cones, probably Fir.
Both are common to your area.
Either way, thinning of lower branches is pretty normal as they get over about 40' to conserve energy. As stated earlier, lower branches may remain on trees located on south facing slopes.
 

Pydpiper

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I don't understand why the pictures took that format, I took them back to back, they should have been the same.
If a very close photo is required than I will get one. However, I think it appears that no matter which tree it is the general consensus is that they are going to thin, regardless.
As far as the south slope keeping it's fullness, that is unfortunate, the rows all run North/South. :shrug:
Thanks for the help everyone, it is somewhat comforting to know they are not dying by my negligence.
 

JonSidneyB

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I am late on this but all my Austrian Pines have lower branches that die. It is normal for these.

Did yoiu know some pines cannot reproduce without the presence of fire?
 

NoFair

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greenLED said:
A shot in the dark? Maybe, but I got several lights in that field. ;)

What do you mean by "the bottoms"? Are you talking about the lower branches or the lower bole (stem).

Generally, as a tree grows taller, it's not cost-effective (from an energy standpoint) to maintain lower branches; the tradeoff between photosynthesis (production) and respiration (maintenance) are not worthwhile and the tree kills those branches.

Without more details I can't say if it's a physiological thing, or other reasons (pathogens).

I'm a biologist (mostly work with predators and not trees lately..) and I agree with this sentiment. From the picture it seems the trees are planted too closely together and then the lower branches recieve too little light. The tree will let branches that do not get light die off because they contibute very little. This only applies to the branches, if the stem is dying the tree is usally doomed....

You might want to cut a few of them down so the remaining trees get more light.

Sverre

PS! I live in Europe, but I assume most pine trees behave the same....
 
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