It’s fall, and we expect our maples, oaks, dogwoods, and hickories to lose their leaves, but when our evergreens shed their needles, what’s happening? In the deciduous world, leaves drop, but you see the woody structure of the plant during winter. This signals that the gardening world is going dormant, and so can we.
As a garden designer, I often hear this comment: “I want something green to look at in winter.” Evergreens give us visual pleasure during the barren months. Blue spruces, white pines, hinoki false cypress, and arborvitaes give us bones in the garden and add winter interest. It’s essential to add them to your garden.
But then this happens: Shedding. Are they dying? Sick? Will they recover? Read on.
A Japanese White Pine loses its needles in late summer/early fall.
Evergreens Shedding Is Normal
If your evergreens are turning yellow or brown from the interior out, don’t panic. Every fall, our evergreens shed. They shed older needles starting in late summer. As the evergreen grows, the inner needles (the oldest ones) are shaded, and they photosynthesis less effectively, causing interior (older) needles to shed. This is normal.
Most of the shedding is interior to the plant, but sometimes you’ll see it on the outer branches. Not to worry, this isn’t the evergreen apocalypse in your yard.
Think of it this way. The plant sheds because the weight of all those needles isn’t healthy for the plant. When winter snow or ice comes, it allows the evergreen to hold up under that weight.
Shedding varies by species and worsens with harsh and severe conditions. Our gardens contended with a lot this season. Severe weather may accelerate the shedding with some evergreens.
This is not unique to conifers. Other evergreens, such as rhododendrons, Schipka cherry laurels, Otto Luyken English laurels, and azaleas, exhibit yellowing leaves and shedding as they push older leaves off.
For more information on the condition, check out this fact sheet from Cornell:
Cornell Cooperative Extension Fact Sheet
White pine shedding in fall. Proof that sometimes the shedding is pretty.
‘DeGroot’s Spire’ arborvitae. Typically their shedding is close to the leader, so you must pull back some of the branches to see the yellowing leaves. If the yellowing/browning drives you nuts, this may not be the evergreen for you.
When Shedding is Not Normal
Browning and yellowing at the tip of the plant can happen at any time of the year and are caused by drought, pests, or diseases. Click on these links for pictures of diplodia tip blight (in pines) and phomosis tip blight (in junipers and spruces), and kabatina tip blight (junipers). This is not normal. Call an extension agent for further help. But, if the browning is happening now, it is mainly to the plant’s interior; however sad that might look, it’s okay. This is a typical fall shedding for evergreens.
Cinthia Milner is a landscape consultant and blog writer for B.B. Barns.
B.B. Barns Garden Center serves all Western North Carolina, upstate South Carolina, and Tennessee.
