Whats killing my pine trees?
If you are getting these pines from the forest or from a not so reputable nursery than that more than likely is the reason. A nursery would have root pruned an 8 foot pine tree for at least 5 or 6 years prior to selling it. The large roots you see on the pine are only to anchor the tree in place while the very tiny roots drink up the water to sustain life and make the tree grow. If an 8 foot pine ( bare root ) does not have at least a dozen or more anchoring roots and several hundred tiny feeder roots than it doesn’t stand much of a chance when being transplanted. If an 8 foot pine tree is balled in burlap than you should expect the ball to be at least 4 foot in diamater and 3 to 4 foot tall. Anything less should automatically tell you the tree was not root pruned properly. My Dad owned and operated Enterprize Nursery here in Michigan for over 30 years. We did a lot of this.
