Would it help to fertilize Loblolly Pines this time of year? Mine are browing-what to do?

Answer 1

Sorry guys,but now is a perfect time to fertilize pines.Ihave been doing just that for 10 years now for several lumber companies from Texas to the East coast.They all apply urea fertilizer from November to April at the rate of 386 lbs. per acre.Usually DAP is also applied at varying rates year round.They can measure a difference in growth in 6 months to a year.At these rates you only treat every 5 years if you leave the needles on the ground as they will recycle the DAP back to the tree.

Answer 2

If you are in the northern hemisphere, then this is wintertime, and fertilizing just about anything in winter is usually not helpful.

It is normal for pines to get some brown needles at this time of year. They are dropping old needles in preparation for growing new ones as soon as warm weather returns. Fertilizer isn't going to help; warm weather should do the trick. Just wait until spring. One thing to check is the soil around the tree--is it very dry? Perhaps your tree could use some water if your area has been enduring drought lately.

In general, pine trees need little in the way of fertilizer. They are generally tough trees well adapted to very poor soil, so fertilizer is really not necessary.

Answer 3

Too early to fert now. In Texas, this is done Feb-March depending on temp. Most mature pines root structure is too large to benefit from a root zone injection.
You can try a soil drench. Fill up a trash can with water, mix in the correct amount of Miracle -Gro and dump the contents from the drip line towards the trunk.
You also could have old needles finally falling off the tree.