Cedar Flagging
Abiotic Abiotic disorder
This profile synthesizes data from multiple published sources. Expert field review is in progress.
What Causes It
Evergreen plants, including conifers and broad-leaf types, naturally shed some old foliage each year. Abies and Picea tend to have long needle retention times while Pinus tends to have a shorter retention time. Stress factors, such as insufficient water, hot winds, construction damage or other root disturbance, poor planting procedures, or recent planting can promote flagging. Larger stem diameters were found to be related to lower needle retention in Douglas-fir.
Quick Reference
Symptoms
Brown foliage develops on the tree or shrub in mid to late summer and is very obvious by early fall. Affected foliage is growth formed in previous years. Foliage developed during the current year (at branch tips) remains green. Brown branchlets are called flags and are generally spread uniformly throughout the canopy. Affected foliage may begin to drop during hot, dry weather. Most of the dead foliage is blown or washed out of the plant by wind and rain in fall and winter. The plant typically resumes its healthy appearance by spring.
Triggers & Conditions
Mid to late summer (browning develops), obvious by early fall. Most foliage drops by winter as plant recovers.