Tree doom on the US Atlantic?

Cessium...

I am not an expert, but as my handle tells you, I like trees, especially beeches.

We have tulip poplar, juneberry, white pine, and a huge pin oak.

None of them have what you are describing - but -

a few years back, many trees in the upper Delmarva Peninsula area had

brown areas at the very tops. Not the ends of branches starting lower - but at the top of the tree.

Especially if the trees were on the tops of hilly areas. It seems the water table was low that year, and the trees were drying out tops first.


This was in a hot dry summer. May not be what you are experiencing.

but it rang a bell.

Good luck and I hope all is well.

Pine trees, white pines in particular, are having brown tops and other damage due to Imprelis use.

Last Edited by beeches on 06/20/2013 07:00 AM

That is exactly what I fear. It almost seems too blatant to say out loud.

Everywhere I look in America using google earth ... the trees are dead or dying .

How widespread is this damage in your area?

I don't know what Google is telling you, but that is BS.

The trees in this area are doing really well except for the Imprelis damage, which is specific to areas where it was used, and usually white pines.

One of my favorite trees.

Thanks, beeches. Oh, how I wish I had some more beech and pine trees here!

This is certainly an odd year, weather-wise, so maybe it's just a symptom of that. We had a rough summer last year (about 18 big boys came down); maybe that's a factor, too. I just hate to see them all suffering a bit - this is not normal, at least for the 12 years I've been here.

I wouldn't classify it as an 'epidemic', yet I see it on almost every tree. I'd say 10-15% or so of each tree is dying on it's outermost branches.

It is global, not just in your area. When the trees die you can be sure so will we.

Even virgin forests have MANY dead trees now. Something is very wrong and there is next to no way to stop it.

You're seeing similar patterns in Malaysia as well?

FW - maybe there is a tree-wise person in your area you can talk to. Promise them some of that pork!

We had insect damage last year on the juneberry and the big pin oak.
They just did not leaf out much, and the leaves were pale.

but I had no clue it was a boring insect that was causing that situation. We agreed to have the tree trunks sprayed, something I have never done before.

This year, they are full of healthy green leaves, and the black areas on the bark from the bugs are gone.

Are you having many cicadas? I posted a thread a few weeks ago that we have not had ANY here.

Last Edited by beeches on 06/20/2013 07:19 AM

One other thing:

have you noticed any change in the deer population in your area?

We have had far fewer deer walking through.

almost to the point where I thought a fence or something might be keeping them back, but no.

Just nowhere near as many deer.

Never! ;-)




Maybe I have overlooked the obvious! We are completely inundated with them. I expected cicada damage, but I guess I was focusing more on my ornamental trees and plants. This makes good sense to me, thanks!

Looking again at your answer, FW, you certainly have seen and would probably recognize drought damage.

So I don't know if it is cesium or not.

Nah, they're as prevalent as they ever were. I swear...these hunters with their tree stands and deer urine! You could stand on my back porch and eat for years. I literally have to chase them off sometimes; they're quite comfortable here!

South coast MA... It's the same. All our trees are dead and dying. Anything more than shrubbery is sick.

Everything is OK with our trees in this part of Georgia.

^^^^^You know its true.

Sad glad that people are noticing

I'm leaning towards beeches' cicada assessment; do those of you with similar issues concur that you've had an experience like this?

A few of us actually pay attention!

Similar thing happening to the ash trees across europe and southern uk. The experts are so worried about the complete extinction of the ash tree caused by a fungus that they are growing ash trees in infected areas to find one that is immune.

[link to www.channel4.com]

I'm seeing almost the same thing, except it seems to be mostly the pine trees around this around that seem to be dying. Also, at least one of our fruit trees does have a fungus. So I think it is fungus related here. The moist and humid weather has also provided a nice environment for ticks too. They've been a huge problem for me.
but for the most part, the trees look lush.

Hoping that our experiences are just geographical anomalies. If we lose the trees, everything else is sure to follow. Thanks for sharing!

Now that you mention it. A birch that has stood in our yard for over sixty years has shown sudden branches going completely dry and dead this year. The cherry trees around seem fine though. Probably nothing.

[link to www.shadetreefarm.com]

Here it is.

Website for Virginia talks about characteristic cicada damage and shows pictures of it.

it is referred to as "flagging" and is brown spots at ends of branches.


This may be what is going on.

A list of trees particularly prone to this cicada damage did include hickories.

Hope this helps ya, FW.

At least in identifying if this is the cause of the problem.

Last Edited by beeches on 06/20/2013 08:33 AM

nice to hear. Georgia is beautiful. mostly I just know the nothwestern corner and a bit of Decatur.

It does, thanks! I just spent some time outside, looking more closely at the damaged branches. Apparently, female cicadas lay their eggs IN the branches; this causes the branch to die outside of the affected area. This definitely coincides with what I am seeing. Most affected here seems to be the Chestnut Oaks. Odd that they lay them above, but they end up below. Thanks again, beeches!

you're very welcome.

Chestnut Oaks must be beautiful trees. We have very little land compared to what I might like, and I am running out of space.

2 sassafras saplings where they don't belong.
2 weeping cherry saplings where they don't belong.

that is in the white pine border.


Oh well, I will find them a home.


well let no one say GLP is not grand!