I've never seen pine needles turn black. Is all the foliage still juvenile? (Powder blue with single needles) Maybe it's some kind of mildew or fungus. I'm in San Antonio area and we have had some heavy rains lately. That pine tolerates full sun, needs it actually, but not being waterlogged. It's a Mediterranean species adapted to warm arid summers.

Yes, the foliage is still juvenile. I also thought about fungus at first, but what the lady in the nursery said about too strong sunshine made sense - it's only South-West. On the other hand, if it's a sunburn, why is it the inner and lower branches and the new growth endings are nice and green?

As for the watering, the rains were heavy, but short, and the soil is very dry whenever I come to water the pine. I was told that adult trees indeed do not tolerate much water, but that juvenile ones need watering because their root system is not developed enough to reach deeply into the ground and get water.

I am really confused, but I would so much like to heal the pine.

please post a pic.. if you want further discussion ...

a pic of the whole.. and a close up ...

planted a month ago ??? ... where did it come from ... i presume not south of you ... and if mail order.. i am wondering if it was properly hardened off to TX sunshine ... its probably a bit more intense than for the rest of us.. especially if mail ordered from up north ...

never forget... whether or not a mature tree is or can tolerate full sun ... that really has nothing to do.. with a new transplant ....

and dont focus on the black ... it a symptom ... and treating the symptom ... might have nothing to do with the cause ... we have to get to the root of the problem .. lol. thats a pun ....

and while you are getting the pix.. tell us how it was planted.... and how you have been watering it ... if you didnt already ...

ken

Planted two months ago. I watered it 5 gallons of water twice a week, except rainy days, sometimes with Superthrive and liquid seaweed. I fed it chicken manure-based fertilizer and recently Azomite.

The tree came from a local nursery. By mail? Do they really mail trees? That sounds cruel. The spot where I planted it was after a tree that died and the roots were removed. I wonder if this could matter. I don't know what did the tree die of.

I will go there tomorrow and take pictures.

Of course they mail trees, that's the only way to get the really cool ones. :)
Was this nursery lady at rainbow gardens? Millbergers? They both have some nice helpful people. But experts? You will find better advice here when it comes to conifers. There are dozens of smart people on here with a borderline unhealthy obsession.

As for the plant being sited where a tree died previously... Three possibilities 1) a pathogen killed first tree and has started to kill this one 2) removing old tree and roots (and subsequently replacing soil) has caused drainage water movement problem or 3) doesn't matter at all.

All that fertilizer in two months?! That's a bit much in anyone's book.

I work on making good soil by adding organic material rather than using fertilizer. Fertilizer 'burns' up organic matter thereby ruining the structure of the soil. Fine in pots where the medium is designed for the use of fertilizer, but in the ground it's usually unnecessary and can do more harm than good.

Mike

Mike, do you think too much fertilizer could have hurt the tree? What do you mean by organic material?

Winterfell, is there anything I can do in cases 1) or 2)?

Organic material is compost, ground up bark, Pine needles, and woodchips. Usually used as a mulch.
I've been to San Antonio several times and really enjoyed the city, river, and plants there,....except when I was in Air Force bootcamp.
Mike

I used ground up bark and woodchips on the top of the soil when I planted the pine and made kind of a fence out of it around the tree. This is what the maintenance person (I planted the pine on a golf course) advised me to do. I kept adding a little bit of it afterwards as well. The soil itself isn't good there though, it's like clay.

Yes, there are lots of beautiful plants and cute birds in San Antonio.

grow Italian stone pine in east tx, z8. Sandy soil, full brutal sun. Only water they get is from Mother Nature, except the first year they're planted. Have never experience burn of any kind.

Here are some pictures taken today. Unfortunately, it looks like I can upload only one picture per post so I will have to send several posts.

The needles and branches were no longer wet and sticky like on Sunday, they were dry instead.

I used a clay horn-shaped, about 5 in worm called Mr. Wormie to check the watering. The soil was very dry after the heavy rain on Monday.

Another one, South-West side.

South-West, the sick side again.

North-East, the healthy side, for a comparison.

The endings were healthy on Sunday, now two of them are sick.

Deeper inside, on the South side.

Ah, pics help a lot. In 2011 I did experience some black branches. It was what I refer to as the drought from hell and my Italians were stressed and I did hv to water with a hose. I trimmed the black branches off which I assumed were dedicated from insufficient moisture. Big pines did not seem to suffer but a couple of young ones were the ones that got the black branches

Did your pines survive? So watering more is a solution?

every single one has survived almost totally unattended and Yes, I think insufficient water during that severe drought was the problem. Like I said before, I trimmed the branches and one tree still looks a little sparse but slowly filling up. Yours look a lot better than mine did during that period, you might want to let the branches be and see of the wind blows aways the black and new needles grow on the branches.

Next time I go to the property I will take a pic of my ISPs and post here. They have been a joy. I try to plant one every year, taking advantage of Christmas sales, but none were to be found last year.

Thank you for your valuable information! I would love to see pictures of your pines. They must be cuteness overload.

I will make mine purr with more water and I was also thinking about putting a board on the South-West side to protect him from such a strong sunshine, but just a little one so it does not take all sunshine away.

Most of that is normal interior browning / needle drop. All conifers lose needles eventually, shedding older interior needles. Black is probably fungus or mildew. I'm sure your tree will be fine. They look a little goofy growing out of that juvenile stage with a mix of adult and juvenile needles, but in time a large pretty tree.

After having seen Pine on Friday around sunset time I am pretty sure that it's a bad sunburn. Some of the needles looked like set on fire. I put a shade board in place and hope this will help. Yesterday I went there around 4 p.m. just to make sure that the board is at the right angle, protecting Pine from the burning sun, but not giving too much shade because I am aware it needs a lot of sunshine. I think it is placed just right. I will keep a close eye and try to respond to Pine's needs immediately in case I am wrong.

Here is a view from the other side.

And in case anyone of you has doubts what the board is, voilÃÂ :

It's kind of late to plant trees in Texas in April. I think it's a combination of drying out (as you suspected) and not being able to draw enough moisture through its roots. If you had planted it in October or November, it would have had all winter and spring to spread its roots out into the surrounding soil and find additional sources of moisture. Probably more important than adding shade right now is making sure the soil near the roots never dries out. If the tree's roots always have moisture, the needles won't wilt in the sun.

I see in all public places around that hundreds of trees were planted in the spring. I asked in three nurseries at the end of March/ beginning of April and in all of them they told me "the time is now or in the fall". Too bad I did not know and now it's too late. I will keep the soil moist as much as I can and I hope the shade helps to prevent is from drying too quick.

Hi Bluebird, I agree with Mike and wouldnt use another spec of fert. That can be a source of stress on an already stressed tree thats trying to get settled in.

Al

Thanks, Al, I will only use the wood chips then.