After the Drought: What about the Trees?.
Water is running everywhere in the high country and we are warned about unsafe conditions near rivers from fast-flowing cold water.
So, what about the trees?
Typically, it takes one to three years after an above-normal precipitation year before trees regain their natural defenses against bark beetles.” The Western Pine Beetle that took advantage of our recent drought is a natural part of the conifer forest environment in California.
If you have incense cedars on your property, it may be comforting to know that they are not easy prey to bark beetles.
Ones that died probably succumbed to lack of water from the drought.
If you have a stand of incense cedars with blackened trunks (trees look fire-singed), it’s an indication that they need thinning.
The black pigment is a sooty mold that grows on the “honeydew” excreted by a type of scale that lives on incense cedars.
Should you water landscape trees?
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