Do Evergreens Ever Lose Their Needles?

Have you ever wondered if evergreens ever lose their needles?

Conifers, also known as evergreens, don’t permanently keep their needles. Most types lose their older needles each autumn, presenting the tree with an unhealthy appearance. This is no reason to be alarmed.

Many homeowners have a pine or spruce tree in their outdoor space. These trees are usually called evergreen since they are green. Moreover, they drop their leaves every fall unlike tree types like ash or maple.

Evergreen trees have folks believing that the needles should last forever. This is why some people get upset when they see any needles (leaves) on the tree get brown and fall.

Like any plant, evergreens can die from insects, environmental stresses, and diseases, making needles fall prematurely. The question then is: how can you tell if your needles falling is normal?

Evergreens and Needles: What You Should Know

Though called evergreen by lots of folks, trees with needle-shaped leaves are referred to as conifers. This conifer category includes the following trees: spruce, hemlock, cedar, pine, fir, and others. Several of these tree types keep their needles to stay green all year long.

Although all conifers lose some of their needles every year, most keep their needles through many growing seasons but lose some of their less efficient, older needles every autumn. Before falling, these needles change color from a healthy green to orange, brown-red, yellowish hue based on the tree type.

Early in the shedding routine, when the needles are still on the branches, these trees could have a bad appearance which can generate unwarranted concern. Luckily, needles falling in the autumn from healthy trees should be replenished with new growth next spring.

A solid growing season followed by a couple of moderate growing years will make a more significant percentage of the needles to be lost in some autumn seasons than others. Again, this is no reason to be worried.

If your whole tree or whole sections of evergreens have needles changing color, this could be a reason to be concerned. Schedule a tree inspection with an arborist to find out what’s the problem.​

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