Nothing I see in the picture fits any disease of Norway spruce that I know of. That is the good news. The bad news is that I donÂt know what this is. There are three possibilities I can think of. First, some lawn treatment chemicals/pesticides. Anything that is supposed to get rid of weeds in a lawn can damage a tree. Two, sometimes some excess fertilizer, especially if applied during the fall/winter can cause a coniferÂs foliage to dry out too much if there is a stiff, dry, and very cold wind during the winter. The third and final possibility is that the tree is close enough to a road for some ice melting chemical to be blown onto the foliage. But if the adjacent tree is unaffected, this does not seem very likely.

I think the odds are that your tree will be fine. You will know in just a few weeks--if the buds break normally and you get new growth, that will be a very good sign. I think the odds are heavily in fovor of this tree recovering and growing normally.

--Spruce

Great, thanks for the help.

The tree is actually about 200 feet from a road, the picture makes it seem much closer.

I did do a heavy fertilizer on the lawn right before winter and know some of the granules shot over to the tree. I never knew this would be an issue. I will make sure I protect the trees when I fertilize from now on.

Thanks again for the help. I will keep an eye on it and see what happens. I was thinking of giving it a good dose of Holy Tone. I did it last year and the trees loved it.

Another idea about your spruce tree--and mine! I took a walk this evening and took a close look at many of my Norway spruce trees. When I looked closely I noticed a very slight browning on some of my spruce trees' needles very much like yours. It must have been some of the harsh weather--cold and wind, after such a warm December and first half of January. I noticed it on several of my trees, but not on others. I think the difference is the genetic difference between the trees and/or some difference in the soil at the specific spot each is growing. Another reason for you not to worry. I haven't used any fertilizer for three years, and no road salt could reach these trees. And I never use any lawn treatments.

--Spruce

That makes me feel a lot better. Thanks spuceman!

I've seen it in general too, Spruceman. This is the worst winter here so far (just 4 winters) AFA leaf-browning on my sapling evergreens. But it all seems mostly superficial, except another little Nootka cypress bit the dust.

first.. as long as the new buds grow .. it will all disappear soon enough ...

second .. i have a lot of the same.. MY THEORY .... it was warm/mild late into the fall .... i think things didn't harden off properly ... and then it got really stinking cold real fast ... aka .. winter burn ... why only one of the bunch .. who knows ... is it the one that is in the prevailing winter winds ... perhaps taking the brunt of the wind and protecting the rest .. or did that one somehow go into winter with less water somehow ...

this does fit in with the late fert causing a growth spurt at precisely the wrong time of the season ....

thought it doesn't look pretty .. it is irrelevant .. if the buds are OK ...

finally .. in photobucket .. after upload. they provide 3 lines.. the middle one is the html TAG line ... copy that one and paste it into your post.. and the pix will be right in the post ... if you don't see them on preview.. we wont see them ...

good luck

ken

Thanks Ken. That first tree does get hit with some good amounts of wind, and boy did we get some this winter.

Never knew that about the pictures, thanks again!

I applied some "leftover" lawn fertiler to my Norway spruce trees. Subsequently, they have lost all folige and are completely burned out. The trees are 6'-7' tall. Will they recover or are they dead? What can I do to save them? Need some expert advice.

Sorry, they are definately dead. Once a Norway spruce turns brown and loses its needles, it won't come back.

But now the question is why they died. This is important so others can avoid your mistake, if indeed you made one.

So my first question is was this just straight fertilizer, or was it one of the common kinds that has something in it to kill or control weeds? If the latter, here is your answer plain and simple. Anything that will eliminate the weeds in your lawn is toxic to trees.

If it was just straight fertilizer, perhaps you applied too much.

Finally, if neither of the first two questions I have is leads anywhere, is there anything else that you can think of that happened around these trees that is unusual?

--Spruce