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We visited friends in Bend, OR, over the weekend. While shopping, we saw a pine tree, about 18" diameter, with sap dripping all down the trunk. It was in a paved (asphalt) parking lot, with the pavement coming within about two feet of the trunk all way around. Could that be a disease or is it hurting because there's such a small area for water to enter the ground around it? The roots must be starved.
The tap root of tall pines usually extend downwards twice the depth of the height of the tree; they go straight down, not out. It is usually the side 'feeder' roots that span outward, but the tap goes into groundwater, or sometimes even into water and sewer systems. On a large tree, the feeder roots will also embrace water and sewer pipes and break them down as they grow.
What you might be seeing is the result of damage caused by just about anything. A lightning strike can cut a tree to its heart and make it 'bleed'. High winds can rip off branches and leave them like open wounds. Bugs - especially pine borers - usually carve into the 'flesh' of the tree and cause it to die more slowly, breaking down the wood and causing the sap to run. There are all sorts of diseases and fungi that can cause a tree's sap/circulatory system to break down and seep through the weakened bark. Some form 'blisters' underneath the bark. An arborist would be better able to tell you what the problem was after looking at the tree; these are my sight-unseen observations. The pine borer-infested trees have become so prevalent lately that I understand that whole acres of forests of them are destroyed to try to prevent their spread.
We visited friends in Bend, OR, over the weekend. While shopping, we saw a pine tree, about 18" diameter, with sap dripping all down the trunk. It was in a paved (asphalt) parking lot, with the pavement coming within about two feet of the trunk all way around. Could that be a disease or is it hurting because there's such a small area for water to enter the ground around it? The roots must be starved.
Pine bark beetles, Nothing you can do, the tree will be dead in a few months.
Most of that "bleeding" does come from injury as the others have said, usually of various boring insects. It is also very likely it is resin, not sap that you see. The resin that is dripping is a kind of patch or seal the tree is trying to form where the bark has been pierced. If you've ever seen the 'gemstone' called Amber (in jewelry) it is the long hardened version of the resin and often will have a piece of plant or insect visible inside.
As far as the tree suffering, it probably could use a little more elbow room but there are many trees that put out deep roots that can find water beneath parking lots and sidewalks, including SCGranny's pines with tap roots. Urban planners and landscape designers have been implementing a Ag school research and development of trees, bushes and perennials that can survive and even thrive in a heavily paved environment. I'm hoping your pine is one of them. Bend and the surrounding countryside is gorgeous, isn't it?
So ... Does the pressure on the feeder roots by the pavement possibly force sap to the surface of the bark, attracting fungal formation or insects ... which then, in turn, open the tree up to infection/infestation? And so, is the resin simply a sign that the tree is in secondary distress and trying to seal itself off from the threats/intruders?
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