Question
Several Italian Cypress in central Florida are browning and dropping needles from bottom up. Have tried several fungicides,
nothing seems to be working. Help! Is Florida a good place to grow these trees?

Answer
The browning of evergreens is commonly referred to as needle blight. Needle blights are caused either by poor growing conditions or pathogenic infections.

Sudden brown, red or purple discoloration of needles characterizes needle blights. Symptoms start at either the tip or base of needles and gradually spread over the entire tree. Severely affected trees take on a general brown look.

Poorly irrigated trees that suffer from drought display symptoms of needle blight. Stressed trees are prone to winter injury and sunscald, which exacerbates discoloration. Fungal infections that lead to root rot disease are also a common cause of declining and browning evergreens.

Water trees well especially during periods of high heat. Mulching trees helps to preserve moisture in roots. Do not over water as this promotes the growth of root rot causing fungi. Apply a balanced fertilizer during spring.

Water with 1 inch of water per week--place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. Also if you have not done so mulch around the tree with not more than 3 inches deep of organic mulch not piled up on the trunk. Pine straw is good. Fertilize this spring with 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 1 lb per inch of trunk diameter scattered around the tree and watered in good.


Spider mites also attack pines, junipers, arborvitae and pyracantha. They especially go for water-stressed cypress. Mites love dry, hot weather. They are not insects, but related to spiders, so insecticides aren't effective. Use a chemical formulated for mite control and follow the instructions. Check with your local garden type store for an insecticide for mite control.

You also can control mites by hosing them weekly with a strong spray of water. A few years back, a reader said high humidity will eliminate spider mites. Wet the foliage with water each night for a week to 10 days. On calm nights, this will give high humidity for most of the night. The reader said he used it on a hedge of tall Italian cypress and it ended his spider mite problem.