old pine trees, need i.d. and care, pics

14 years ago

This year, I am working on identifying the old trees on my property. I've taken a lot of pics...do you know what kind of pine trees these are?

They do have some bark issues, and die-back on lower branches.

They are over 2 stories, my house was built in 1945, they may be that old, but these were definitely planted, as they are in rows.

For perspective:

behind my 2 story house, you can see their tops behind the house:

next to my 1 story shed:

............

there are a lot of dead branches on some of the trees...is there a way to prevent this from getting worse? is this normal? You can't see it very well, but the tree that's directly next to my 1 story shed in the shed photo above has the whole lower east side (shed side) full of dying branches, starting from the lowest ones going up. I've been watching it for a few years now and it seemed to get really bad in the course of a year or two, but the dying seems to have stopped now.

below, some of the trees have these issues in the bark...the top 2 pics seem to be some type of woodpecker marks... just want to make sure....most of these little "holes" are at about 4-6 feet up from the ground on the trunk...I don't usually see woodpeckers that low, though...?

the bottom pic, I don't know what that is, I think there may be worse spots...:

The trees had the lower limbs already removed when I moved here.

Should I do anything to help them be healthier?

Thank you!

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Comments (6)

gardener365
14 years ago
Picea pungens (Colorado spruce). They are old/aging trees that don't need any help. Dead branches, a few knicks here and there... otherwise, nothing to be concerned with.

Those holes... get a pocketknife out and dig into the holes to look for boring insects. If you're finding a lot, then you may need to do something.

Dax
pineresin
14 years ago
Norway Spruce Picea abies (Picea pungens has different cones).

Good healthy specimens. The holes look like sapsucker holes from looong ago, now healed over.

Resin
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salicaceae
14 years ago
Agreed with Resin. Definitely Norway spruce (probably planted when your house was built) and definitely sapsucker damage. I would leave them alone.
wisconsitom
14 years ago
Hi Mary. A fellow 'sconnie, Norway spruce are among my very favorite species, and yes, yours look pretty good. If you or someone you know has a pole saw, it is amazing how much of an improvement in appearance can be made by an hour or two of work taking off dead branches within reach of the tool. It's easy and satisfying work with a great payoff.

Other than that, about the only possible thing that could matter to these trees at this point would be to watch for dry conditions. As you state yourself to be in zone 4, methinks you are somewhere in the northern part of our state, which is still sadly missing nearly every storm system that comes through. But........keep in mind....this may not be necessary at all and if you do decide to water these trees, you really need to water a very large area under and around them.

Glad you are so interested and knowledgeable about trees and their associates!

+oM
Mary4b
Original Author
14 years ago
I couldn't be more pleased to know what kind of trees they are! Thank you!!! And "leave them alone" for care is perhaps even better news!!

Wisconsitom, I saw a tree trimming pole at HD on clearance the other day...but it said that it only handles limbs with about a 1" diameter, so I thought that sounded kind of useless for my purposes. I am considering some other trees on my property that may need some work, so once I have everything identified, I may be hiring someone to do the high work, and in that case, I will have the dead stuff cleaned up.

Thank you again! I will be posting another pic and care question about my old blue spruce soon.
Mary
wisconsitom
14 years ago
The tool you saw at HD must have been a pole pruner rather than a pole saw. Sometimes, combination units are offered. Have to say though that quality of such offerings tends to be very low. You've got a plan though so you should be good to go.......

Forgot to mention....your last pic showing the anomaly on the lower trunk of one tree looks like an old wound to me. Nothing serious but just to differentiate between the others showing sapsucker damage.

+oM