Search Results

Disposing of Pine Needles and Pine Cones (Yard Trash) #623469

Asked April 24, 2020, 12:44 PM EDT

I have raked up a LOT of pine needles and pine cones from my yard in Jefferson County. How can I dispose of this? If I use bags, this will mean filling over 140 plastic bags which sit in the landfill for many years. We have a burn ban in Jeffco. Any suggestions? Thank you very much Jan

Jefferson County Colorado

Moss in grass in Colorado; mulch vs compost to retain soil; discarding pine needles and branches #622490

Asked April 10, 2020, 10:12 AM EDT


Dear Ag extension.
I have a lot of questions = let me know if I should put them in separate emails!


1. Moss in grass in Colorado! We have a section of lawn north of our house and frequently shaded by the house that has moss in the grass. I thought moss was unusual in the dry Colorado air, but the patches cover a roughly 8x9ft section, and the lawn is developing patches of dry earth between the grass as well. I would like to take out the lawn and plant native Colorado plants or perennials that do well in Colorado, but wanted to get your take on what would do well in such conditions, and how to go about converting the area from patches of dead grass to perennials.  
2. Could you advise on using mulch vs compost to retain soil moisture in Colorado? I am tired of maintaining wood chip mulch, which -I think and correct me if I am wrong - needs to be removed to add any soil amendments and then put back. I had read that you might as well use a compost that would do double duty for moisture retention and a soil aid, and wanted your take on whether or not that would be a good idea, and what you advise for mulching around irises, or a bed with a combination of perennial shasta daisies, catmint and bulbs.
3. Soil recovery after 10 years of landscaping fabric/black plastic. The prior homeowners installed black plastic when planting pine trees around 2002-2004. I hate black plastic and we are now removing it and the trees are mature. The plastic is now buried under almost a foot of pine needles in places and black soil rich with earthworms, with a solid layer of clay below where the plastic was. A small number of surface roots are above the black plastic. How can we accelerate the rejuvenation of the soil now that the plastic is gone? We would like to plant shade tolerant ground cover below the trees where light is patchy. Should we turn the soil to combine the top layer with the clay? Should we just leave it?
4. Best way to discarding pine needles and branches? From the above pine trees on our property (blue spruce, ponderosa, and several long needle varieties) we have dense layers of pine needles. We cleaned the surface of the pine needles to reduce potential fire hazard, in the part of our yard that we have a grill, but there are 5-15 years of needles built up, which are turning into a nice humus layer. Could you advise on how much to remove to avoid a fire hazard but keep the nice humus layer, and what do we do with the pine needles? We have read that they shouldn't be composted so we are currently putting them in the trash, which seems ecologically like a bad idea. What are our alternatives for reducing fire hazard of pine needles waste? We have heard of using the dry long pine needles as mulch in other areas, but want your advice. Thanks! 


Thanks for everything that you do! I understand you are volunteers and appreciate your time!
Best
Jeannie





Arapahoe County Colorado

Is Leafgro a good compost for my garden beds? #618129

Asked March 23, 2020, 3:15 PM EDT

I am planning to spread compost over my garden beds a few weeks before I plant my annuals this spring. Is Leafgro a good compost to use? Should I just spread a one-inch deep layer over the top of the beds, or should I work it into the soil? Is two weeks before planting a good time to do it, or should I do it earlier? Thank you for your advice!

Montgomery County Maryland

Pine borers (beetles?) - Ada, Michigan #610610

Asked January 23, 2020, 4:08 PM EST

Hello Tree Expert! We live in Ada, Michigan with a lot of beautiful tall norway/red pine trees in our yard and surrounding our property. They are all probably 30-50+ years old. We have lived here 14 years, and that is when the builder cleared much of the woods for our lot and built our home. We had a tree cutting crew out to cut down some of the dead pine in the yard. The tree service said that they believe we have pine borers in some of the trees - clearly indicated by small 1/8-1/4" holes in some/all of the dead trees' bark (of course, the needles were all brown, or the needles had all fallen off). They didn't think we could do anything about the pine borers except remove the trees that were dead to keep the borers from moving to the live pine. Again, our property is surrounded by all these pine, so we can't "fell" every tree that gets the borers. Questions: (1) How can I be sure of the type of pest that might be killing the tree (or are the pine just getting old; or were the pines disrupted from when the builders cleared much of the land/woods), and (2) if it truly is pine borers/beetles, is there an insecticide that can treat for it? If yes, (3) recommended insecticide service to do so? Would love to have you come out to look at the living trees. the pic attached is of healthy trees - for you to see if they are norway pine, red pine, or some other sort of pine..... Thank you! Claire



Kent County Michigan

Needles as compost material #604373

Asked October 27, 2019, 11:30 AM EDT

I'm a new gardener and I'm transitioning the yard to native plants. There's a very large evergreen tree in my neighbor's yard that has dropped a thick layer of serrated needles in a bed planted with ferns and bleeding heart. Should I leave the needles or remove some or all of the needles? I've come across conflicting opinions about needles and would love to know more. Thank you!



Multnomah County Oregon

White pine needles #603735

Asked October 22, 2019, 4:06 PM EDT

We have 2 large mature white pine trees on our property which usually shed hundreds of pine cones and sticky sap, and periodic needle drop. This year we've had very few pine cones and no sticky sap, but the needle shed is off the charts! Looking up into the trees, the yellow needles are still extensive, so there's more to come. Other neighbors in south Minneapolis are having the same experience. Why the difference in pine cone population and so many more yellow needles falling? So much rain?

Hennepin County Minnesota

white needles on Red pine/Norway Pine #596917

Asked September 17, 2019, 3:27 PM EDT

I have a few pines dying from the top down. There are clumps of needle turning white and dying. What is the problem and can I do anything. I have seen a few on a couple of other pines as well

Cass County Minnesota

Pine tree #585601

Asked August 01, 2019, 9:34 PM EDT

We have a large Pine tree at our cabin that the needles are browning on. We’re concerned that it’s dying. Any advice on what we can do is appreciated.

Cass County Minnesota

Sick Pines #585338

Asked August 02, 2019, 4:08 PM EDT

We are in Douglas County, Nevada, my question is I have 2 pine trees 15 feet apart among 4 other pine trees that have attracted a change of colors to brown /orange. It does not indicate dryness because they get plenty of watering. They cbange occurred within “overnight”. Regards Hans Ewald



Douglas County Nevada

Spruce needles in compost #567474

Asked June 06, 2019, 10:03 AM EDT

Is it ok to add dried spruce (Sitka) needles to compost piles? There's a lot of info on pine needles, but not spruce. My compost pile is not hot - I use worms.

Lincoln County Oregon