Viewing post #3105147 by jameskevindo

ViburnumValley said:

Lean inside of the branches, and take pictures of the trunk from where the branches have all green needles up through the transition to where the branches have all brown needles. Take some pictures of the ground conditions around this pine.

Sure, here's these pictures -

Higher in tree where needles are brown:



Lower in tree where needles are green:


Ground on either side of tree - there's a retaining wall downwards in one side, then lawn, then a garden bed.

ViburnumValley said:
Do you have automatic irrigation on the property, or are there any water lines in the area near this tree?

Has there been any utility work or other excavation of soils in the vicinity of this tree?

No, for all of the above.

I think I may have found a problem, though. Looking at the trunk I found that someone had left a rope knotted around it several years ago, and it's in the location where the affected branches are above and the good branches below. I managed to get part of the rope off, but the other half seems embedded under bark.



Is this maybe the culprit?