Why is my once healthy tree now dying? There are many reasons your tree may be dying including ones hidden deep down in the soil. Before you do anything to the dying tree, call a professional to ensure the best chance for your tree and find the cause and any treatments available to your situation.
In New Jersey there have been many new invasive bugs that have been killing off thousands of trees, although our most common threats are Spotted Lantern Flies and the Emerald Ash Borer. Many trees are covered in sap sucking Spotted Lantern Flies that will suck out the tree’s sap and its waste, called honeydew, fall on the trees leaves covering them to stop photosynthesis. This weakens and kills the tree.
You know if this happens because the tree will be covered in bright bugs that are bad at flying and jump high and far. That’s when you know you have a Spotted Lantern Fly problem!
The Ash tree’s enemy, the Emerald Ash Borers larvae, dig tunnels in the cambium layer and feed on it which damages the cambium layer severely. The cambium layer is important as it brings water, nutrients, and sugar up and down the tree. You can tell if this bug is a problem if there is cracking bark and/or the upper branches on the tree start to die. Diseases may also affect the tree if there was a puncture in it.
Water is also usually a big cause of your tree dying, especially in the summer for freshly planted trees. Severe droughts, where a tree gets little to no water for weeks, is a big issue as trees depend on water for almost everything, including to get their sugars and energy to survive. Overwatering is just as bad as you can actually drown a tree. By doing this you are drenching the soil so the air pockets in the roots are flooded. The outcome of these events is a stressed tree with fall-like leaves just like we had here in New Jersey in the hot, dry summer of 2022.
When in doubt, always check for girdling roots! Girdling roots can kill a tree and they’re usually hidden under piled up mulch or soil around the base of the tree. This is when the roots of a tree wrap around it on trunk cutting of the cambium layer which contains important xylem and phloem. The tree is basically suffocating itself sadly. Why does this happen? Girdling roots are due to improper planting and/or mulching techniques. Usually the tree will begin to die from lack of water, sugars, and nutrients.
Unfortunately, there are many causes to a dying tree, even old age. The few I’ve listed are just the main ones. Be sure to check out my blog on watering and girdling roots!
