Ossipie Mountains tree die off?
 

Yesterday (8/31) headed into 19 Mi Bay I noticed several large areas in the Ossipies that were brown/reddish in color. Its too early for fall foliage. Is this a die off of a large numbers of trees? I also notice the northern tip of Rattlesnake has a dozen or two dead trees. Looking around elsewhere on the lake I see similar stands of trees that appear to be dead or dying.I recognize this has been a dry summer but this seems unusual. Is this possibly the result of Red Pine scale?

More than likely what you are seeing is the result of hemlock woolly adelgid disease which affects and eventually kills hemlock trees.

NH hemlock trees, especially around the lakes region are being taken over by this disease. Last summer we had to have all our hemlocks at our home on Welch island treated in an effort to save our trees.

Dan

Certainly a possibility, I've had my hemlocks treated for HWA too. What seems different to me is that when HWA kills a hemlock they drop all their needles leaving just a bare tree. Looking at the trees on the end of Rattlesnake, they appear to be dead with their needles still on the trees but red/brown in color. Havent been close enough yet to determine if they and red pines or some other species.

Pretty sure it’s leaves turning brown from no water. I climbed a couple weeks ago and it was crazy seeing all the wilted plants on the way up. Many of the beeches, maples and birches had brown leaves and they were falling .

Unfortunately red pine scale, an invasive insect, has spread throughout the region. We have numerous red pines on Barndoor Island that have been impacted. While I have found very little information on infestation, The UNH Cooperative out of Sullivan County provided the diagnosis with a very pessimistic outlook for the trees. In addition to impacted red pines along the lake, there is public reporting on a stand of red pines at Bear Brook State Park that has been decimated.

Diamond Island...
 

Diamond Island has a large grove of Red Pine on the south side; at least it did, ten years ago.

Too bad, as Red Pine is relatively rare and highly sought after; in industry.

Report?

:look:

Where I live the Cicadas did a lot of damage to our oak trees this summer. I’m not sure how they impacted the Lakes Region. Could Cicada damage be what you are seeing?

Don't think so.
We have been in an odd pattern with heavy spring and fall rains, and long dry summers.


I think that causes the plants to develop new growth that cannot be sustained during the long dry periods based on NH soil moisture retention.

We have 8 red pines on Welch that are still healthy. They will be treated with an injection of Transtect Insecticide by Belknap Landscaping.

Alan

In researching whats most effective that seems to be the right move for RPS. The active ingredient in Transect is dinotefuran.

Has Belknap Landscaping told you how often the tree should be treated?

Hard to say, I'd need to get up close to the trees to see them. But the ones I see by boat on Rattlesnake, Cow and Little bear are definitely stands of pines that are 100% red/brown from crown to base.

Its all very concerning since we have so many red pines and hemlocks that are being attacked by pests.

I agree the outlook is not good once the trees get infested. I am reading that trees can be effectively treated with dinotefuran if done before significant infestation.

Could be up to 4 or 5 years but they suggest an inspection in 2 years. They don't have long term experience with this treatment.

We had our hemlock trees treated with spray on bark insecticide last year and the HWA has disappeared. That is supposed to be a 2 or 3 year fix,

Belknap Landscaping came out to the island yesterday to assess our 6 red pines and concluded they are not salvageable. There is not enough active growth to pull the insecticide up the tree to kill the insects. The diagnosis was disappointing but not surprising as the trees have rapidly declined over the summer. The trees are right along the shoreline and have provided valuable shade as we have western exposure. Their certified arborist, Peter, is very knowledgeable and helpful. If you have red pines that have been impacted by this invasive insect but still have a decent amount of healthy branches, I strongly recommend calling Belknap.

Where can we get more details about this problem?


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Suggest you start here: https://www.nhbugs.org/damaging-inse...red-pine-scale

Losing my hemlocks……it’s there a treatment out there that works?

Yes, there are two chemicals that are very effective. Dinotefuran, fast acting and remains effective for about 2 years and Imidacloprid, slow acting which remains effective for about 4 years. I'd recommend getting a professional to determine if your trees are good candidates for treatment. If they're too far gone they wont have strong enough vascular system flow to draw the treatment into the branches and canopy. Search on the internet for further info, several university extensions and/or arborist sites have lots of info. I hope you can salvage them.