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Originally Posted by Just_Mike
Thanks Jim...Im not at all concerned about needle lenght at this point...i have several years (5-6) at least before that becomes a concern...mostly i was just curious as to why this could have happened and how to deal with it...you mentioned that i should leave all else alone except for maybe some needle thinning...any reason for this?? does this sometimes happen if the tree is a little weak or stressed??
thanks again for the reply...Mike
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For a tree in development I will typically leave needles for two years. Needles older than this will not be productive and can possibly be "parasitic". These "younger" needles are needed for food production and house possible future budding sites. If allowed to remain however they will lead to larger needles than is desirable- the tree will send energy to the areas with the most needles- so if you are at a stage of needle reduction then one would want to remove these to minimize food production and excessive growth of needles emerging on this "stunted" area. This will make sense if you've studied the whole process of JBP treatment.
I don't advocate needle thinning in your instance- you want Y's so if there are several shoots at one spot you may want to consider trimming excess.
SO to answer your other question- why did these occur- I suspect that this is indeed a tree that is "stressed". Usually what I have been describing is the result of properly applied treatment for needle reduction- which does stress the tree, part of which yields the result of smaller needles.
I would leave it alone, feed it well, water it well and see how the tree responds next spring.
jim