I have a 25 year old Monterey Pine tree in my back yard in Southern California. It is looking very brown and looks dying. What can I do? It has been a very dry winter. I have been watering it a lot in the last 10 days, but no change.

Is there fertilizer I should put in it? Should I trim off the dead part? What should I do?

-- David Stowell (david@zspecial.com), April 13, 2002

Answers

David, I would get on the phone quickly to your local County Extension Service. They will be knowledgable about this species of tree and what it needs and suffers from in your area. We supply their paychecks out of our taxes so make use of it. Look under your County in the phone book. Good luck, I hope you do not lose this tree! That would be the pits. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), April 13, 2002.

David, the montery pines are being killed up and down the coast. The bark beatles love them.Look for holes and listen to the bark and you might hear them in there chewing.Hope I am wrong but 15 years ago in hort class the dying montery pines were being covered then.

-- kathy h (ckhart55@earthlink.net), April 13, 2002.