10/12/2026
A question that comes up around this time of year: “What is wrong with my pine tree? Why is it turning yellow?”
No need to panic, yellowing of the interior needles of your evergreen tree is completely normal and is a common sight in the fall. This process known as seasonal needle drop or needle shedding.
Seasonal needle drop is when an evergreen tree sheds its older and/or shaded out needles because those needles are no longer needed. The interior needles will turn yellow at first, then to brown and finally the needles will fall off. No need to worry about the loss of some of the interior needles as the newer growth on the tree will continue to grow and support your tree.
If you have multiple evergreen trees, and especially trees of the same species, it is normal for your trees to not perfectly sync up and have identical seasonal needle drop patterns. So if one of your evergreen trees is shedding more or less than the others, that’s totally normal!
Seasonal needle drop also isn’t exclusive to pine trees. This process can happen to any evergreen tree such as spruce and arborvitae. However pine trees, especially white pine, put on the most dramatic display of needle shedding.
