Concerned about a pine in my yard

[jrs_diesel]

Greetings! I've lurked here for a while and like all of the information I've learned here, especially on chainsaws!

I have 2 pine tree in my yard out front. One is decent looking, the other, not so much. The bad looking one has a lot fewer needles, and some dead branches. I've also seen some bugs flying around it. I thought they were wasps at first, and I'm sure some of them are. But the other ones I don't recognize at all, and I'm concerned that it might be a tree boring bug of some kind.

Here are some pictures. In the second picture, the one on the left is the healthier looking one, and is about 15 ft away from the bad looking one. Is my pine tree sick? And what is this bug?

 

[New Hampster]

That there is a Pine seed bug. Part of the leaf-footed bug family or "Coreidae".
http://www.insectidentification.org...ntification=Leaf-Footed-Bug&sCurrentPic=pic10
Not harmful to trees other than they feed on the sap and can harm seed pods, preventing germination.
Not harmful in any way to trees or humans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_conifer_seed_bug

 

[Raintree]

If I were to guess by looking at the thinning crown & trunk tapper I would say the root flare has been buried. Are they Yellow pines, planted or original to the site?

 

[jrs_diesel]

I think they are original to the site. The house (and the surrounding neighborhood) was built in the early 90s, so it was likely planted then. We just moved in last summer.

I'll get a picture of the base of the tree tomorrow. As far as what type of pine, I don't know for sure. I do know that on the healthy looking pine, a couple of roots run near the surface. My lawn mower wheels thump over them every time I mow. The unhealthy one does not seem to have roots near the surface. The unhealthy one will drop dead branches nearly every time we had some good wind, sometimes I even see live branch tips as well on the ground.

 

[jrs_diesel]

Here is a picture of the base of the tree. Something else I noticed when I took this picture was that this tree has shed some of it bark (brown spots in picture), my other tree has not lost any.

 

[Raintree]

Lower trunk is obstructed by plants, can't see flare.
Trunk tapper is no longer a concern due to new pic.
Pine most likely not planted if house was built 20 yrs ago.
Chronic stress in the declining tree possibly triggered by construction damage to root zone.
Pine closest to driveway is the tree in question.
Weak trees are a magnet for insects & disease.
Soil sample with appropriate adjustments, remove landscape mound & expose root crown, maintain soil moister & control secondary invaders.

 

[jrs_diesel]

Here's a shot of the bottom of the tree. I think you were right about the root flare being buried to low.

Is the tree too far gone at this point or will it be able to recover?

 

[Raintree]

The tree is worth saving, exposing the root flare & getting the soil tested is important. Concrete walks, foundations & drives can leach lime into the soil.

 

[arboristCT]

Also when you dig out the root flare, check for girdling roots too, maybe the tree is being choked by one of those, and make sure you are not making any damage with the lawn mower to the exposed roots of the other pine.

 

[jrs_diesel]

What is girdling?

As far as the mower goes, the roots are just high enough to notice when walking and mowing, but not high enough for the blades to contact them.

My wife and I have discussed having it taken down (professionally of course, way to many targets nearby for me to even think about felling it myself), and planting a maple, magnolia, or an oak in it's place. We're not committed either way on that though. Our biggest concern is it getting blown down in a storm or hurricane. An neighbor two houses down lost a large healthy willow in hurricane Ike a few years ago.

 

[arboristCT]

What is girdling?

As far as the mower goes, the roots are just high enough to notice when walking and mowing, but not high enough for the blades to contact them.

My wife and I have discussed having it taken down (professionally of course, way to many targets nearby for me to even think about felling it myself), and planting a maple, magnolia, or an oak in it's place. We're not committed either way on that though. Our biggest concern is it getting blown down in a storm or hurricane. An neighbor two houses down lost a large healthy willow in hurricane Ike a few years ago.

Girdling roots "Roots that cross over the trunk of a tree instead of growing outward are known as girdling roots and should be removed since they can choke trees"

 

[treeseer]

Remove that (cast-iron?) plant away from the trunk, for starters. Then remove soil until you can see the first root com9ing off the trunk, and post a pic.