Why Don’t Evergreens Loose Their Needles?

Backyard Wisdom - November 2019
by: Gilbert A Smith, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist

Everyone knows that deciduous trees go dormant and shed their leaves so that they don't freeze in the cold winter. So why don't evergreens shed their needles too? Actually, they do loose their older needles continuously throughout the year, as the older needles are shaded out by younger ones. This may happen most heavily in the fall, as is demonstrated every autumn, by our clients who begin to call, worrying about brown needles on their evergreens. The good news is, they never lose all of their needles, unless they’re dead. Evergreens are green throughout the year, but they don’t have the same needles forever!