PURDUE PLANT DOCTOR

Death

Key Features

  • Extensive dieback/ defoliation
  • Dead buds
  • No leaves produced in spring
Dead tree trunk
Dead evergreen trees: conifers do not replace dead needles
Dead holly on the far left, leaves brown and no signs of a new flush of growth

Symptoms

Death is a term more readily understood in the animal kingdom than the plant kingdom. Leaves, branches, stems and roots can all be dead, yet a tree can persist, and even recover, unless of course, most of the tree is dead. Trees can die quickly, due to herbicides, lightning and some diseases that prevent a tree from making food through photosynthesis, or moving water from roots to leaves. Trees can also decline slowly, due poor site, old age, insects or pathogens.

A probable drought event drove the death of this topiary
Dead honeylocust tree, no leaves emerged in the fall
Dead oak tree, a lightning strike has killed the top canopy

Biology

Dead pine next to a healthy pine
Dead redbud branches, in this instance, due to Botryosphaeria canker
Dead yew: all needles yellowish-brown

Management Recommendations

Prune out dead branches as they appear to avoid attracting diseases and insects that can lead to decline. Remove dead plants as soon as possible. Contact a certified arborist for an assessment of trees with suspected root death. Some contributing factors, like soil compaction, can be corrected and the tree can recover.

Effective Pesticides

Pesticides are neither available nor recommended for managing this condition.

Lookalikes

Resources

landscape report
Purdue Landscape Report
PPDL
Plant & Pest Diagnostic Laboratory