Flygarden,
If it is pine bark beetle, they usually die fast from the top down.
My neighbor lost a gorgeous white pine that was at least 40 years old last year, so sad, and it died fast, from the top down.
You have to get rid of the trees that are starting to die, have them removed and carted away,
Burn anything remaining.
So sad. Nothing you can do but get rid of the trees ASAP if they are being killed by the pine bark beetle.
They spread, so the sooner you get the other infested trees cut down and hauled away, the better for the one remaning healty one.
You might want to watch the dying trees carefuly, are they dying fast from the top down?
Mabey a tree service who has an arborist can give you his opinion.
Sorry.

Thank you for the responses. Yes, butterfly, two of the trees have begun wilting from the top during the past two weeks (see pic).

Ken, yes, we had a long, hard winter. Do you think that is the more likely culprit? The tree ID was given to me by a neighbor who has a hobby tree farm and has the same variety in his yard. Based on the pic, do you think the ID is accurate?

I checked with 1 of only 2 local ISA arborists. He was not sure what was happening. The second one has yet to return my phone calls :/

I am perplexed and sorry to be losing the centerpiece of our front yard. They look(ed) really nice.

For illustrative purposesâ¦. here is a pic of the tree that has died.

And here is what the trunk of the dead tree looks likeâ¦

They are really somewhat out of their range, climate-wise, where you live, OP. Where they are native, it's something like 4-7000 feet above sea level, and likely, drier, cooler summers.

The stress of the summers in Okalahoma, particularly of late, may have had a great deal to do with their demise. A weakened tree is susceptible to attack (weakened immune system).

So, it was probably a gamble whenever they were planted in a front yard in Okalahoma. If it were me, I'd hope for the best, not spend too much money trying to save the rest, and chose something more suitable and move on. Sorry about your trees.

M

I will take a shot. I live over in Northwest Arkansas, and there are allot of Atlas Cedar that made it through winter just fine (including my own). So while it's not certain that winter wasn't the problem, I tend to think that it was not. What I do think is most like the problem is girdling roots.I see many Atlas Cedar locally, and almost without exception, they are in a container much much too small for the size of tree. Most of these will eventually die due to being pot bound and developing girdling roots. So Joe Q Public comes along and buys the tree and doesn't know any better, plants the tree, and then it suddenly dies a few years later. Frank Contractor also buys the one that has been there the longest (therefore most pot bound) which is the cheapest because the seller is trying to get rid of it before it dies. Frank Contractor likes it because it increases their profit, and helps sell the house. Again, the tree dies at most a few years later.

Dig up one of the dead ones and lets have some pictures of the roots. We should be able to confirm is refute my hypothesis.

Arktrees

Great replies! Got some more info⦠I finally reached the 2nd of 2 arborists in town. He identified the beetle as a click beetle and said it was not likely responsible for the damage. Instead, after looking at the roots and noting that the tree seems to wobble more than it should for an established cedar, it seems most likely the roots were not properly scored when the tree was planted.

It seems that arktree's theory in the post above is most likely to be the case -- potted tree with girdling roots that have not expanded well enough to support the tree. I think the trees were not properly planted by the landscaper who did the work (and apparently who has a poor reputation).

The arborist suggested I take a spade and make a series of deep cuts around the base of the tree and perpendicular to the trunk to attempt to free up the roots and allow the tree to expand its root system. I'll give that a try and see what happens!

Ultimately, if they die, it won't be a loss in the long run. The previous owner did not make a great choice in planting 4 atlas cedars close together within a small 20 ft run. If they survive, I'll eventually have to remove a couple so they have room enough to grow.

Thanks again for the help!

As a landscaper myself, and a continuously growing arborist, I tend to agree with Arktrees the most. From a home owner perspective, it's really difficult to diagnose a tree that is dying or suffering. Especially if you weren't there for the installation to see the typically unseen, or control the quality and care taken during some planting steps. Not to mention, from a commercial landscape environment perspective, most Cedars of any kind, planted in Oklahoma, were done for the homeowner, by a landscaper and is integrated into an existing landscape system which may or may not include, landscape beds and irrigation. There are many factors that are easily overlooked when diagnosing a tree. It's pretty easy to assume a pest, but in reality, I think I see more Cedars die from being "lemons" from the nursery or from drainage/over watering or not watering during the winter, than from any pest. Pest, most typically being bag worms on Atlas Cedars in my area. Just my thoughts and experience. Also, take note of how often you see truly mature Atlas Cedars of any kind through out most of Oklahoma. It's a spectacle when you do, and it doesn't happen that often. I'm very choosy about when and where I plant Atlas Cedars.

Here in California we have major problems with different type of Borers. These are insects that attack stressed trees (your Cedars were likely stressed as has been pointed out by others due to poor location/climate etc.) and bore into their trunks causing 'girdling' (essentially eating away a band of cambium layer thus choking your tree). Once your tree is girdled, no nutrients can flow up and down from the roots to the canopy and the tree quickly dies. The worse part is that the hidden beetle larvae 'galleries' (serpentine tunnels of eaten away sapwood under the bark.. out of sight) can't really be detected except small entry and exit holes. The picture of the insect could very well be a 'click beetle' in the Elateridae family, but it may also very well be a flathead borer in the Buprestidae family.

I thought cedars were actually pretty resistant to bark beetles, actually.

I hadn't known they attacked white pine. That's worrying. My parents lost a lot of pines to bark beetles, but the neighborhood white pines seemed immune. (As did the Eastern Red Cedar...although those aren't true cedar).

When you say make cuts "perpendicular to the trunk" do you mean cuts going straight outward, like a star? Someone else advised something similar, and it's interesting to see corroboration. Or in a circle? Might be useful for my "Lowes bargain bin" purchases.

Just to clear up any possible confusion in this thread, we have not identified the insect. There are LOTS of potential tree pests out there, not a handful. Up on my shelf I spy my old copy of Johnson and Lyon's big book-Insects That Feed On Trees And Shrubs. This book is heavy! And every specie of tree has numerous potential pests. Very generally speaking, all conifers are pretty good at repelling such creatures. All that pitch and sticky sap you encounter when working on a pine or spruce is/are protective compounds. It is only when the tree is stressed-usually by drought, that many of these borers are able to gain entry. This relationship holds true throughout the conifers.