Question
Mark, nice to talk to a fellow Oregonian.  I have a mature pine tree in my yard in Salem.  The home is 23 years old.  I'm certain that the tree was brought in when the place was landscaped.  Up until this month, the tree has seemed otherwise healthy.  It had a bumper crop of pine cones.  The needles now seem to be turning abnormally brown.  We have a couple of other pines in the yard that aren't looking the same.  Is this cause for concern?  Thank you.

Answer
David,

Not all pine trees have the same calendar, but this time of year is when at least some pines are losing their old needles.  I take care of a big Ponderosa Pine which, a month ago was all green, but now is half brown, losing old needles.  My White Pine also looks sickly when it loses old needles, but it's not losing right now.  

Pine cones are a good sign--still healthy propagation.  What would be alarming is if both old and new needles are browning out at the same time--whole branches browning out.  The newest ones are the ones farthest out on the branches.  

You can also check the brown needles for signs of disease, like small black spots, indicating a fungus infection. There are also some blights that can quickly take out pines.  That's happened to me also.  There was a diseased tree in a neighbor's yard.  It wasn't taken out promptly, and a couple years after it died, I had two pines a couple blocks away die of the same thing.

So, if only older inner needles are turning brown, everything's OK, even if ugly for now.  If new (outer/end) and old needles are brown, you've probably got a diseased pine.

Hope this helps,
Mark in Portland

ps.. go ducks! go beavers! (I've got a kid at each)