Trees Failing Post-Helene

We have been seeing lots of plants dying Spring 2025. We have also had reports of trees falling over that survived the storm. Experts suspect many of the tree issues we are seeing may be lingering effects from Hurricane Helene. There is also a new disease called 'Pink Disease' that is affecting trees and shrubs. Will this new disease spread as a result of storm damage?

Lingering Effects The trees in western North Carolina got thrashed for hours during Hurricane Helene. Tree canopies and trunks were twisted in the wind for hours. Wood was likely damaged even if the trees did not fall over. Wood delaminates under stress and roots can break. This damage could lead to trees dying and attact damaging beetles.

The trees that survived Hurricane Helene may be more likely to blow over during relatively mild winds. If we consider the thrashing trees experienced in the storm it is likely we will see many more trees and tree branches dying this spring from having been broken by the severe wind.

Conifers Arborvitaes were experiencing problems even before the storm. So much so that I wrote an article about it. Since the storm arborvitaes, Leyland cypress and other conifers have been dying.

Ambrosia Beetles The undertakers of the plant world are ambrosia beetles. These tiny wood-boring beetles can smell injured and physiologically stressed trees from miles away. They find these weakened trees and drill into them to lay eggs. The females carry a fungus on their body which clogs the xylem of the tree which finally kills it. We will likely see increased ambrosia beetle damaged trees in the coming years due to damage caused by the hurricane.

Anecdotal stories of trees that were healthy pre-Hurricane Helene now dying are being reported. Experts suspect lingering storm damage and beetle attacks are killing these trees.

Hurricane Damaged Trees Our trees are not the first to be damaged by hurricanes. Florida experienced many storms in the 2000's. One of our great arboricultural professors Dr. Ed Gillman from the University of Florida created a website with information about hurricane damaged trees.