Homeowners often call The Mill about their White Pine trees having yellow needles. They are concerned that the pines are yellowing on the interior of the branches. While yellow dropping needles could mean the tree is dying or diseased, it is a normal process that can occur due to weather conditions.
Conifers when stressed by heat or drought will shed needles. We had hot, dry days in August and early September of 2022, so the pines are responding this October by turning yellow. It is their way of shedding leaves or needles to reduce stress before going into the winter.
This is a normal response and the needles will fall off after frost. If you have an issue with the entire branch turning brown or a conifer dying from the outside toward the inside, then you have other more involved issues.
These young pines are shedding interior needles. Closer inspection of White Pine tree shows the needles already dropping to the interior of the plant. This is a natural process and the reason that trees are shaken at Christmas Tree farms.
