Young White Pine Lost a Leader - Ask Extension
I have a small 6 year old white pine. It recently lost most of it's tip/leader. Only about 2 inches remain and no needles are on the remainder of th...
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Young White Pine Lost a Leader #871819
Asked June 05, 2024, 9:23 PM EDT
I have a small 6 year old white pine. It recently lost most of it's tip/leader. Only about 2 inches remain and no needles are on the remainder of the leader. Will this remaining portion of the leader continue to grow in successive years? Or should I cut it off and select and tie up a branch to be the new leader?
Also, this same white pine sustained some damage to the truck during the same event that caused it to lose most of it's leader. The damage consists of a few small gouges between 1 and 5 inches from the ground. Is there anything I should do to protect and encourage the tree to recover?
Houghton County Michigan
Expert Response
Hi Amalia,
It's hard to predict if the leader will continue to grow with out seeing a picture. If it does not look like it will survive, then you may cut it off and allow a lateral branch to take over. If two take over, you may cut one of those to ensure only one becomes the trunk. There should be no need to tie one up to encourage its upward growth as trees do that naturally.
As to the wounds on the truck, no need to treat them with anything. Most likely, the tree has already produced sap to seal the wounds from fungus and bacteria. The tree should recover from the wounds.
Thank you,
-Julie
It's hard to predict if the leader will continue to grow with out seeing a picture. If it does not look like it will survive, then you may cut it off and allow a lateral branch to take over. If two take over, you may cut one of those to ensure only one becomes the trunk. There should be no need to tie one up to encourage its upward growth as trees do that naturally.
As to the wounds on the truck, no need to treat them with anything. Most likely, the tree has already produced sap to seal the wounds from fungus and bacteria. The tree should recover from the wounds.
Thank you,
-Julie
