Pine trees make needle drop easy to notice because they often have an open branching habit. Because pine needles grow — and fall — in bundles of two or more, the loss may be especially obvious.

A "fast-moving bark beetle," the southern pine beetle attacks pine trees mostly in South Jersey where, in 2010, more than 14,000 acres of pines were killed due to the creature.

Wow, what a difference a week makes in terms of fall color! I was in Washington state last week for a conference and couldn’t believe the difference in tree color when I got back in Ohio this ...