Over The Winter, About 6-7″ Of The Tips Of All…
Jackie Asked
Over the winter, about 6-7″ of the tips of all the evergreens has fallen. My yard is covered with green tree matter. Why did this happen?
The Gardener’s Answer
Hello, Jackie: It is difficult to say for certain what is going on with your evergreens not being able to see them and not knowing what kind of evergreens you are referring to, but it sounds like it could be a result of the freezing temperatures in combination with other factors. If your evergreens were suffering from moisture stress as they were going into dormancy and the ground froze before any additional moisture was available to take up through the plant, then this can cause dieback of the tips. This is especially true if the ground remained frozen for a significant period of time, which I would imagine is the norm in your area. In most cases the tips would die but remain attached to the plant. The wood becomes brittle when this happens and can cause them break off in a storm. If this were happening during the warmer months it could be a result of insect damage. Sawfly is one possibility but they only attack certain evergreens. Again, not knowing what evergreen you are growing I cannot be very specific. It is hard to say if the plants will put on any new growth to replace what has been lost, but if the rest of the plant looks healthy then this is a good sign. Be sure to give them plenty of moisture if Mother Nature does not do so this spring. To rule out any other problems you should take a sample of what has fallen off to your County Cooperative Extension Service. The horticulture agent will be able to give you a more definitive answer. You can visit the Erie County Web site at http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/erie or contact them at (716) 652-5400.
