Question About a White Pine Tree

[so lucky]

One of our pine trees, about 15 years old, has had drooping needles for the last couple/three years. It is near others that seem fine. I noticed earlier in the year that the needles were hardly drooping at all, but now they are again. They are a nice green, but all of them just seem to bend down as they come out of the stem. No excess dropping of needles, no injuries that I can see. No visible insects. Borers, maybe? We have had plenty of water this year, as opposed to other years. I have researched this on the net, to no avail. Any suggestions?

 

[thistlebloom]

I don't have any ideas about what the problem with your pine could be, but maybe if no one on the forum can help, you could contact somebody ( an arborist? ) with the Missouri Dept. of Conservation?

http://mdc.mo.gov/about-us/how-contact-us/public-contacts-directory

It looks like they have a forester who might be useful.

 

[897tgigvib]

Do you have any Currants or Gooseberries nearby? When we got the Eastern White Pine trees at the nursery I worked at in Montana as an experiment to grow, we were told not to have any of the currants or gooseberries near them. Some rust disease can incubate in the Currants and Gooseberries and spread to the White Pines.

But our white pines, seems like they always had beautifully drooping needles, healthy as can be. I actually wonder if it is genetic, like a strain that grows like that.

 

[so lucky]

There are no gooseberries or currants that I am aware of. Maybe across the road and over the hill, but I doubt it. The pine is not one of those really long needled ones; they are only about 3 inches long. They are not supposed to droop down.

 

[majorcatfish]

Do you have any Currants or Gooseberries nearby? When we got the Eastern White Pine trees at the nursery I worked at in Montana as an experiment to grow, we were told not to have any of the currants or gooseberries near them. Some rust disease can incubate in the Currants and Gooseberries and spread to the White Pines.

But our white pines, seems like they always had beautifully drooping needles, healthy as can be. I actually wonder if it is genetic, like a strain that grows like that.

it's called white pine blister rust
here in nc the Department of Agriculture is eradicating wild currants found. if caught growing currants on purpose on your property it's a hefty fine....

 

[thistlebloom]

If it was white pine blister rust So Lucky would have seen the evidence by now. It makes nasty blistery lesions.
Also the fungus won't spread over 900 feet away.

 

[897tgigvib]

The beautiful selection of Eastern White Pine we had had long almost 6 inch needles, even on the 3 foot trees. They drooped very beautifully.

The reason they were experimental, (we experimented with growing at least one new just out of zone type of plant each year), was that where White Pines grow in zone 4, we were in barely zone 4, with very bone dry winter air and wild swings of temperatures, and lots of wind. So, we even sprayed a bit of water on them on warm (relatively) winter days like once a week. Also, during the grow season they were always watered overhead, allowing the water to drip down through the tree to the roots. Same with arborvitae. We had good success. Did lose one the first winter. It may have had damage in the truck, not sure why. Maybe some customer yanked on it, don't know.

The shorter needled one drooping, I don't know why. I still think it may be genetic. They are variable. So are lots of conifer species. Variable.