Question

EVERGREEN   Jennifer

Hi,  I need your help, I have an evergreen that is dying and I dont know what is causing the brown needles -

I have attached a photo of one of the branches, the entire tree is
being killed - please help

thanks

Ken

Answer
Hi Ken,

It is possible that this is normal.  It looks like the older needles are the ones that are browning.  These are the ones that are closer to the trunk and not the needles near the tips.  For many evergreen plants, they drop their older needles in the fall.  In the spring, they will put on new needles at the tip.  If your plant looks like this all over, I think this is the most likely cause of the discoloration.

There are a few pathogens that will attack the older needles and not the younger needles.  If you were to look closely (you may need a hand lens or magnifying glass), you would find black fruiting bodies on the needles.  They would be about the size of a grain of black pepper (like we use to season food).  If you see these, it suggests a plant pathogen may be attacking.  If they are absent, this further supports that this is normal fall browning.  

If there are fruiting structures, often there is nothing that can be done.  Environmental stress usually predisposes trees to this sort of problem.  Eliminating stress by watering, removing dead wood, applying fertilizer, etc is the best recommendation.  It also may be helpful to treat with fungicides in spring and fall during periods with moderate temperatures and rainy weather.  You should be able to find many fungicides at your local garden center and I would recommend either copper hydroxide or copper sulfate for this problem.  Follow the label instructions for how to mix up the product.

Good luck with your plants.
--Jen