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LibertyLizard

Can you help me save this Japanese Umbrella Pine (Sciadopitys verticillata) (imgur.com)

submitted 8 months ago by JacobCoffinWrites to c/treehuggers

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I'm not sure if this is a good fit for this community, but I've read enough to know there are some very knowledgeable folks here, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Feel free to remove if it's off topic/too specific.

This umbrella pine has been here for around 60 years, and recently started having some trouble. I know a certain amount of yellowing and seasonal needle drop is common, but it seems like this one's been hit especially hard, and there's a companion tree on the other side of the house, same age, which is still deep green. I'd really really love to keep it going, and I'm hoping it's not too late.

We had a bad summer, unusually wet, and I think it stressed this tree - the other one is on top of a hill so it must get better drainage. There was also some construction somewhat nearby, and uphill, which might be causing more water to enter the yard - the basement flooded for the first time in awhile. Also a road crew cut some trees that might have been shading it occasionally, I'm not sure. They might have been too far away to make any difference.

I'm planning to improve on a drainage ditch which runs along the driveway between this tree and the wettest areas, hopefully before snowmelt. I guess my questions are is there anything else I can/should do? Soil test in case it needs something? Can this tree be saved? It's yellowing but it still has some deep green in places (mostly on the shady side).

I have some closeups too if that would help.

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[–] j_roby 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I'm not a tree person at all, so hopefully someone who is chimes in for you.

But I am a plant guy. And a lot of plants can benefit from a good pruning. They tend to show some more vigor in their growth afterwards.

My suggestion would be to maybe try pruning off those lower branches, up to just above your roof.

[–] LibertyLizard 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I don’t think this will help nor is it necessarily advisable until we identify the problem. The trunk looks damaged, which could be from the sun. If so, removing more branches could make it worse.

Edit: or not, I am looking on my phone and it’s hard to tell. I’ll take a closer look on my computer tomorrow.

[–] LibertyLizard 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Definitely on topic. But we’re a small community so I don’t know if you’ll find what you need. I’ll do my best to help as much as I can.

Have you checked the soil moisture around the tree? Changing drainage patterns can definitely affect tree health. Does the soil seem waterlogged? If so, it could be causing root rot, which would explain the yellowing needles.

Also, it kind of looks like the tree has a large trunk injury, but it’s hard to tell—maybe it’s just grown into an odd shape. I would want to probe into that a bit to to see if there is any decay happening in the trunk—if so that could be the issue.

Unfortunately, neither of these problems would be easy to solve. And in my experience with conifers, they don’t show stress as readily as other trees. Once they start yellowing like this, it may mean that they are very sick and recovery will be a long shot. But I have very little experience with this exact species.

If you really want to preserve the tree you might need to hire a local expert. Get someone with a lot of experience and who is coming from a tree preservation mindset. ISA certified would be a minimum and a consulting arborist would be best. Might cost a bit more but this is a very unique specimen so I think it would be worth it depending on your finances.

[–] JacobCoffinWrites 1 points 8 months ago

Thanks, I was kind of afraid of that. I'll see who I can find in the area