What to do if the Christmas tree turns yellow. Diseases of spruce trees and their treatment - what do beautiful coniferous trees suffer from? Video: the main reasons for yellowing of thujas

It rarely happens that the summer resident is not at fault in this case - as a rule, the owner of the site himself made mistakes for which the plants pay.

Why do conifers turn yellow in spring?

Take a look at the list of these erroneous activities and check the boxes that correspond to your actions:

1. During planting, a large amount (more than 30-50 g) of mineral fertilizers was added to the planting hole, and the roots were in contact with granules in the soil.


2. After planting, regular watering of the plants was not provided during the season (“planted, watered and forgot”).


3. Pre-winter moisture-recharging irrigation (before the onset of frost), which is vital for coniferous plants, was not carried out, which would have ensured good turgor (filling with moisture) of the needles.


4. Sufficient shading of the needles for the winter was not carried out. The fact is that in February or early spring the sun causes the needles to evaporate moisture, and the roots, located in frozen ground, are not able to provide this moisture. Plants simply “burn”, unable to protect themselves from bright rays.


5. Plants were not treated against diseases and pests of pine needles last season and in spring.

What to do if the plants have already turned yellow

If we are talking about small patches of yellow needles in late February-early March, then it is still quite possible to protect the trees with shade materials.

Under no circumstances should you completely wrap plants with lutrasil (spunbond). The material itself weakly retains the sun, while the needles continue to actively evaporate moisture, and the “cocoon” creates a greenhouse effect inside, leading to damping off, burning out and, ultimately, yellowing of the needles. Often, under lutrasil, the plant turns more yellow than when not covered.

To effectively protect individual plants from the sun, use burlap and special shade nets that allow the needles to avoid bright rays and allow them to ventilate.

By the way, you should not completely exclude the use of lutrasil. It can be used to make excellent screens that slightly shade plants but do not accumulate moisture.

The simplest option is to throw fabric over the tree only from the south side and secure it in this position with twine or ordinary office staples directly along the branches. The result is that the plant is shaded, but well ventilated.

If the needles turn yellow in April-May

Well, most often this phenomenon is completely reversible and fixable. Do not immediately cut off branches with yellowed needles. Some plants may regrow shoots with young needles (for example, thuja).

Only in cases where the knots have clearly dried out and easily break off with a dry cut, you need to carefully cut them off with a hacksaw or trim them with pruning shears.

So, how can we help the affected conifers?

1. Treat the plants with a mixture of insecticide and fungicide for prevention, because It is difficult for a non-specialist to determine the presence of signs of diseases or pests on a plant.

To do this, add 4 ml of Topaz and 20 ml of Actellik to 10 liters of water (if you don’t find Actellik on sale, you can replace it with Actara or Fufanon). Be sure to add an ampoule of Zircon to the same tank mixture; this is an excellent stimulant that will help plants recover.

2. Water the plants generously, especially if you suspect that you overdid it with mineral fertilizers when planting. After washing the soil, water the conifers again, adding 1 ampoule of Zircon to the water. In this case, it is used as a root stimulant.

3. Do not apply any fertilizers either to the roots or to the needles until new shoots appear.

4. In the morning, evening or on cloudy days, spray the crown with plain water.

5. A week after the first treatment, spray the plants with a solution of Epin-Extra preparations (2 ml per 10 liters of water). This is an excellent anti-stress drug that will help the needles recover.

If you have very alkaline water (produces a lot of scale), then add 1 tsp to a bucket of water before diluting Epin. vinegar (the drug Epin is destroyed in an alkaline environment). Spray in cloudy weather or in the morning and evening 2 times a month until the plant is completely restored.

6. Instead of Epin, you can use another adaptogen - the drug HB-101, this solution is sprayed and watered at the root once a week. Use 2 times a month until the tree is completely restored.

7. As soon as the plant has perked up and new shoots have appeared, in May you can feed it using special fertilizers for conifers. In this case, it is better to give preference to liquid and granular preparations with a long duration of action (POKON, AVA).

8. Regularly water and spray conifers, especially young specimens, and do not make mistakes in the future before preparing them for wintering.

I am often asked why the needles of pine and other coniferous plants in the garden turn yellow in early spring and mid-summer. There may be several reasons. Of course, it is worth considering each case separately. But there are also general recommendations that will help in case of minor ailments of conifers. And if, after trying these methods, there is no result, you will have to use more complex treatment regimens and, preferably, after consultation with a specialist.

Why do the needles of pine and coniferous plants turn yellow?

Here are the most common causes of the disease:

• In summer, this is most often a lack of moisture or diseases and pests.
• And in the spring there may be costs of late planting or sunburn.

Algorithm for treating coniferous trees in case of yellowing of needles

1. Use pruning shears to cut out any branches that are severely damaged, but before doing this, make sure that the branches are completely dry. Some conifers, for example?? thujas may sprout new shoots on yellowed branches.
2. Wear gloves and try to remove yellowed needles from the middle of the tree.
3. Treat the crown (spraying through a sprayer) with all specimens that you think need help with the drug “NV-101”.
4. Spray the root system of the tree with the same preparation “NV-101”.
5. After 7 days, water the root system with Kornevin at the rate of 1 gram per 1 liter of water.
6. If necessary, repeat treatment of coniferous trees at intervals of 1-2 weeks until the plant is completely restored.

A very sad sight in spring or autumn is the yellowed, browned, sometimes covered with a grayish twigs of evergreen thuja. You should respond extremely quickly and responsibly to such an obviously painful condition of a beautiful coniferous tree. Our article will tell you how to understand the causes of the illness of everyone’s favorite, the unpretentious “tree of life” during the warm season and how to help it.

The loss of its decorative value by the thuja - its yellowing, as a rule, occurs due to a whole range of reasons. This may be neglect and lack of necessary care for the plant itself, which is why the conifer developed a deficiency of nutrients in the soil and began to have problems with the root system of the plant. It is possible that the plant is sick or has been attacked by pests, and an initially incorrect plant may also have a negative impact. .

Note! Thuja needles may turn yellow in the fall for a natural reason - due to the loss of chlorophyll, a substance that provides nutrition to the needles. Thus, they turn yellow, dry out and die, and then new green needles appear in the same place. This is a normal natural life cycle that occurs with thuja every 3-6 years.

Also, at the end of autumn, thuja needles may turn yellow due to natural protective reaction of the conifer to cold weather, then she herself will turn green again.

Important! Whatever the reason causes the yellowing and drying of thuja needles, all affected branches must be ruthlessly cut out. In this case, it is enough to simply remove only the dried “leaves”, since greenery will still grow on the branches. Don't leave yellow needles if you want to save the tree!

Video: why thuja turns yellow and how to save it

Insufficient or improper care of thuja

Thuja most often dries out and turns yellow due to lack of moisture in the crown and root system of the conifer. Therefore, on sunny, hot summer days, the needles must be regularly watered by sprinkling (showering), and also pour a sufficient amount of water into the tree trunk itself, which must be mulched so that the moisture can linger longer.

True, everything can be the other way around: thuja receives too much moisture, which stagnates due to poor drainage. In this case, you need to either replant it or somehow adjust the drainage system, otherwise, due to stagnant moisture, the plant may develop one of the fungal diseases.

Sunburn needles appear as a result of lack of moisture during the transitional winter-spring period. A very bright spring sun can simply burn a defenseless thuja almost to the very trunk. Therefore, at the end of winter - beginning of spring (February-March), you should shade the conifer using, for example, a simple white material (sheet), a camouflage net or lutrasil (throw it directly over the plant and do not remove it until April).

Advice! If the thuja is still damaged by the sun, then spray it with a growth stimulator, for example, epin or zircon. However, it is generally quite useful to do such treatment every spring.

Also, yellowing and drying of thuja needles is possible due to the fact that The roots of the plant do not have enough room to grow. As a rule, this happens 5-7 years after planting the seedling in open ground, when it has grown sufficiently and outgrown the previously made planting hole. The only way to save the tree is to transplant it to a new location.

If you planted thuja too close, then they may begin to turn yellow due to the fact that they will take away scarce nutrition from each other, and due to poor air circulation, they may rot out.

Another reason for yellowing (or rather, drilling, the needles begin to take on a rusty tint) of thuja is deficiency of nutrients in the soil. Therefore, do not skimp on liquid fertilizing with special fertilizers for conifers if you do not want them to lose their decorative qualities. For example, if there is a lack of iron in the soil, it turns yellow or white, and a lack of phosphorus can be expressed in the appearance of a reddish-purple hue.

It is very important to carry out correct formation of thuja: If you prune too harshly with a blunt instrument, this can also cause yellowing (even browning) of the needles.

Note! An unexpected cause of yellowing and even blackening of the lower part of the crown may be urine of domestic animals, namely the marks of dogs and cats.

Video: the main reasons for yellowing of thujas

Thuja diseases

If fungal diseases For thujas that have caused its yellowing, it is urgently necessary to do sanitary pruning, and then spray the tree crown with various kinds of fungicides, for example, acrobat, for a long time.

By the way! It often happens that the cause of a fungal disease in thuja is lawn. Most likely, in this case, the ephedra caught fusarium, which often occurs both in the grass and, indeed, on the conifer itself.

Newly planted thujas may be affected after winter when the snow melts brown shutte. The needles acquire a brownish tint, and then a gray-black coating appears on it. As a preventive measure, ephedra should be treated in early spring .

Pests of thuja

It often happens that they settle on thuja ticks, the presence of which on the needles of a tree can only be determined using a magnifying glass. So, if you see small red insects, this means that you have ticks on your tree. The solution to the problem is to spray the conifers with Fufanon or Actellik.

Thuja can also be attacked by sucking insect pests such as thuja aphid, thuja false scale, juniper scale, mealybug, pest moth and bug. Because of this, in the spring the plant’s needles may also acquire a reddish-brown color and even become covered with a grayish coating.

To completely destroy these pests in early spring, treat the thuja Karbofos, and then in the summer additionally spray the ephedra as a preventive measure Rogor or again Actellicom.

The following pests are no less harmful and dangerous for thuja:

To destroy these insect pests, in late spring and early summer, conifers should be sprayed again with Fufanon or Actellik, although a preparation such as Confidor is also suitable.

Note! Treatments against diseases and pests of thuja should be repeated 2-3 times a month with an interval of 1 week, and it is better to spray in the morning or evening. In addition, it is imperative to follow all safety measures, performing all manipulations in a protective suit and a mask with a carbon filter.

Thus, there are several serious reasons behind the yellowing of thuja needles, including the natural age-related reaction of the conifer in the fall, and in the spring and summer, improper care of the tree and seasonal attacks of diseases and pests. We hope that our sensible advice and recommendations will help you prevail over all the enemies of thuja.

Video: reasons for yellowing of thujas

Buying coniferous plants for the garden and properly caring for them - expert advice

“To implement unusual design solutions and create an original landscape, many gardeners use coniferous plants. Such crops give a noble appearance to the site and decorate the garden area all year round. - Larisa Yakushkina, public relations specialist at the Rosselkhoznadzor Office for the Republic of Mordovia and the Penza Region, says. - They look especially impressive in the autumn-winter period, giving the dull landscape rich green colors.

But sometimes evergreen trees and shrubs, instead of enlivening the area with greenery, for some reason begin to turn yellow. If we are not talking about an adult plant, for which replacing needles once every 3-8 years is normal, then this is a reason to analyze the mistakes made or find the reasons that led to the yellowing of the needles in seedlings.

First of all, the seedling purchased from the seller could have been initially unhealthy, as evidenced by such signs as light colored needles and undeveloped roots. When purchasing, you should choose seedlings with a rich, bright green crown and a well-developed root system. At the same time, a conscientious seller, in order to avoid drying out the roots, will definitely wrap them in a wet cloth.

Next, you need to figure out whether the coniferous plants were planted correctly. If it was done too late in the fall, the seedlings might not have time to take root. Excessive digging into the soil, proximity to groundwater, application of large amounts of mineral fertilizers during planting, lack of mulch covering that inhibits the evaporation of moisture from the soil can also negatively affect the health and immunity of the seedling. In addition, when planting conifers in heavy clay soil, it is necessary to add sand to loosen the soil.

Improper watering can also cause yellowing of the needles. Prolonged drought and lack of moisture are no less harmful to coniferous plants than excessive soil moisture. And the lack of pre-winter moisture-recharging irrigation can cause yellowing of the crown of conifers in early spring.

In the spring, needles may also turn yellow due to frost and winter drying. Not all conifers are frost-resistant. Heat-loving conifers need shelter for the winter with protective natural materials.

The scorching sun in February-March is also dangerous for conifers. In the absence of shading, young plants whose root systems are not sufficiently developed lose a lot of moisture, which affects the condition of their needles. The sun has a negative effect on conifers at other times of the year, so it is better to plant them in partial shade.

Conifers do not like smoke, to which they can also react by yellowing the crown. Therefore, it is better not to burn garbage near them. If conifers do come into contact with smoke, it is recommended to spray the crown of the plants with water from a hose.

The needles may turn yellow due to lack of nutrients. This problem is easily solved by applying complex mineral fertilizers for coniferous plants.

If a healthy seedling was purchased at the time of purchase, and no mistakes were made when planting, watering, caring for and preparing for the winter, then the cause of yellowing of the needles may be fungal diseases - fusarium, rust and others. Appropriate fungicidal preparations can help.

Also, the cause of yellowing of the crown can be pests - spruce leaf roller, spider mite and many others. The use of appropriate insecticidal preparations will help correct the situation. It is much worse if there are bark beetles or pine beetles. It’s almost impossible to get rid of them, so the conifers are cut down and burned to prevent the spread of pests.”

Gardeners often complain that coniferous plants purchased in a store or at an exhibition begin to turn yellow. Naturally, the question arises, what is the reason for this and how to help the plant?

Yellowing of needles can be caused by various reasons. AND first one of them is lack of watering. Seedlings in containers can become overdried when stored in a store. Before selling, they are watered abundantly, but the small suction roots of the plant have already died, so this does not save the situation. Such seedlings suffer when planted in dry sandy soil (especially calcareous) with a shallow fertile layer. At first, they require regular and abundant watering.

The second reason- late boarding. In late autumn, plants do not have time to take root, and the needles continue to evaporate moisture even in winter. Therefore, the plant becomes dehydrated, the needles turn yellow and dry out.

Third reason- sunburn in winter and early spring. Why don't plants burn in summer? The fact is that in winter the bright rays of the sun are reflected from the snow, causing the illumination near the plant to almost double. This is the cause of burns. No wonder they appear on the south side. You can protect coniferous plants by tying them with burlap or thick paper.

Fourth reason- fungal diseases. Biological drugs will help against them ( Alirin, Gamair, Fitosporin-M), and in their absence - double treatment with foundationazole (10 g per 10 liters of water) with an interval of 10 days. To restore the immunity of plants, spraying with drugs is used until recovery. Epin-extra or "Zircon" .

Fifth reason- insect pests. For example, the thuja aphid or the Sitka spruce aphid. These are dangerous pests. Various types of thuja, prickly spruce, Serbian spruce, and Sitka spruce suffer from them. Aphids can be detected by holding up a sheet of white paper and tapping on a branch. When it appears, it is recommended to repeatedly spray the trees with potassium soap, infusions of garlic, wormwood and other herbs.

Dirty white to blackish caterpillars of the nun moth, up to 5 cm long, completely eat up spruce needles. At the very first appearance, spray with bitoxibacillin or drugs decis, karate.

Spider mite and spruce budworm. It is necessary to spray with colloidal sulfur, infusions of dandelion or garlic. When infected with a leaf roller, the needles not only turn yellow, but are also entwined with cobwebs, and caterpillars (larvae) are visible inside, eating the foliage. Affected shoots must be repeatedly treated with a solution of liquid soap or removed. In case of severe insect infestation, chemical insecticides are used.

Do not despair if the needles have become very loose and most of the branches look bare. With proper care and regular watering, the plant can be saved. In advanced cases, the needles grow back the next year.