I lost one from the freeze and maybe a second. I thought it might have been a fluke but I just got back from town and noticed several others dead. My tree guy is coming this evening, I hope he remembers how much business I have sent his way before he gives me the bid. Anyone else lose pine trees?

I won't pretend to know anything about East Tx pine trees.

But, are you sure it's dead? The Hill Country is full of brown leaves and trees that seem dead. But everyone is saying to wait a few weeks. Plus, my young Monterrey Oaks seem dead but are green under the bark.

swampstander said:

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I lost one from the freeze and maybe a second. I thought it might have been a fluke but I just got back from town and noticed several others dead. My tree guy is coming this evening, I hope he remembers how much business I have sent his way before he gives me the bid. Anyone else lose pine trees?

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Mature pines? Wouldn't have thought you'd notice freeze damage this quickly?

Yeah, I wouldn't be in a rush to take anything out unless you already wanted it gone

Most all loblolly pines survived '83 and it was colder for longer

Look at a distribution range map for loblolly pines. You'll see that they thrive in much colder climates than south east Texas

Not colder in Tyler in 83. Old record was -3 F 90-something years ago. This last spell it was officially down to -6 F. Not sure about the pines myself but while most are still green and look healthy, a good number is solid brown.

This is true, but are they able to "harden up" better in those climates before the 0 F temps hits? Would like to hear a forester chime in.

I wouldn't think the cold weather would have killed them. For most of what I've seen, pine trees faired really well. The live oaks are the ones that had all their leaves die, but they'll be dropping them and growing new ones soon.

If they'll grow in Huntsville and Chattanooga they should be fine where you are. I'd imagine both those places get extra cold snaps like the one that happened in TX more often than you guys do.

Here is a news article about the freeze damage
https://www.itemonline.com/news/local_news/east-texas-now-noticing-freeze-damage-on-forest-trees/article_6168aec2-6ffb-5692-ae28-39f7dae74936.html

Noticed quite a few loblolly here in Houston with brownish red needles too-I don't think the entire trees died, just the needles. I'm recommending to clients to leave the trees for 3-4 weeks to see how the trees respond before even considering a plan of action.

River Bass said:

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Here is a news article about the freeze damage
https://www.itemonline.com/news/local_news/east-texas-now-noticing-freeze-damage-on-forest-trees/article_6168aec2-6ffb-5692-ae28-39f7dae74936.html

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I actually already read that article. Found it linked by some East Texas Gardening page. I noticed lots of yaupon loosing some, not all leaves. Our Sweet Olives are 99% bare. The few leaves that remain seem to be ok so fingers crossed for them. Several pines in the neighborhood have lots of dead spots particularly in the crown. I noticed younger pines on the neighbors lot that got bent over from the weight of ice are brown on the "up" side. Pic below of the tree in question. I've never seen a pine go completely brown and recover. Like I said, I saw several like it yesterday in the 5 mile trip to town. If it's going to come back it has a little time. Tree guy said there is 14 people ahead of me. Using the level and carpenter square method it's about 120 feet tall and 3 feet in diameter.

Edit; That's one of our sweet olives to the lower right. Just noticed a few tiny new leaves on it.

I have a lot of pines that look just like that. Never seen anything hit them that fast. Was hoping they would come back but I've never seen a brown pine tree come back. I don't care for pine trees but I have way too many to take down if they are indeed dead.

Kind of off subject, but what do you do with a pine that size after you chop it down? Can't really use them for firewood can you?

cmag said:

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Kind of off subject, but what do you do with a pine that size after you chop it down? Can't really use them for firewood can you?

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Burn in your fire pit? That's what I would do.

Trees and plants can shock freeze. When it was in the 70s leading up to thus artic blast before the bottom fell out, it was going to be bad. In the north, where the cold builds up over time, the trees do indeed get ready for winter.

Just did a walk in the local park. Probably 10% of the pine trees look just like that.

cmag said:

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Kind of off subject, but what do you do with a pine that size after you chop it down? Can't really use them for firewood can you?

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You can, The wood has more resin but burns hotter and faster than hardwood and builds up creosote a bit less.

Update on this. This tree was hours away from succumbing to the chainsaw. I noticed it sprouting male pollen cones just like all the rest of the pine trees so I called off the tree guy and saved that $1000.