i would be more concerned with the lawn spray service.. the lawnmower and the weedwhipper ...

the fact the the upper is perfect.. leads me to believe its lawn maintenance related

ken

We dont have our lawn sprayed but you could be right about the lawnmower and weedwhipper, though my husband is usually careful. I have seen spruce trees with lifted skirts about a foot or so off the ground. Would this be something we could do now or does the tree need to be more mature?

If I were only looking at the second and third picture, I'd be in complete agreement, but the first picture looks to me like the outer needles are dying out (above what is probably lawn maintenance related damage).

If the damage is only similar to what we see in the second and third picture, threaten whoever is doing the trimming with similar treatment to their legs if it happens again. (-;

If the damage looks like what I think I see in the first picture, we need to look for insect damage or signs of canker.

Extend the circle with mulch beyond the branches and wait until next June to see if any of the branches push new growth.

If they don't prune out the dead wood. Try not to lift the skirt as the the branches will droop and expose more of the older inner needes which turn green (blue wax is taken off by weather) and drop over time. You want the new blue growth to be highlighted as much as possible.

I'm not an expert but there doesn't appear to be a needle disease.

I just noticed there is something going on here. Your new growth that pushed out this year was only 1" or so on many of the bottom branches where as most other branches pushed out 4-8". The good news is that many of those areas that only push 1" of growth seemed to have viable buds.

pull the rider up to the tree.. i can tell from the tire tracks.. with the muffler facing the tree.. and tell me if that spot is where the hot exhaust is burning the foliage..

if so .. duh.. go the other way around the tree .. lol ...

increase mulch ring... yes..

you can take off the bottom one or two whorls ... as those above extend over the years.. they will sag ....

if it fails.. start smaller.. 7 foot in too large a transplant for most homeowners ... per whaas ... that would be a reason for the reduced spring growth ....

pic of my hoopsi below .... from a one gallon pot 5 years prior ....

there is a conifer forum .. if you want to learn more about conifers ...

ken
{{gwi:205545}}

Brandon, you might be on to something. The three pictures are taken of two different trees. The first picture is one tree and the second and third are of another tree.

The first tree (first picture) definately has a slightly yellow tinge in color. What insects am I looking for, and how to do detect canker?

Whass, thanks. I think the problem with the second tree (pictures 2 and 3) is lawnmower damage which will cease immmediately!

Wow Ken, that is a beautiful tree!

I only have a second, so I'll leave the link below. I think it will cover the possibilities in the Pests and the Diseases sections. I'll try to check back later.

Here is a link that might be useful: University of Florida document

pests and disease attack otherwise unhealthy trees ...

you are dealing with very large transplants ... there are a multitude of problems.. unrelated to bugs or disease.. that need to be addressed.. long before you start intervention for such ...

in other words.. a poorly dug or planted tree in stress .. is not going to live.. because you get rid of a bug or a disease ...

explain how it was planted .. and how it has been watered for the year and one half since you planted a 7 footer.. and where did you get it.. potted or BBurlap??? etc ...

and next time.. dont trick us with a title that indicates a SINGLE tree .. and then post pix of 3 .. whats that all about .... lol....

ken

Ken, it wasnt 7 feet when we planted it. It was between 4-5 feet in a pot. This was its third summer planted. We planted 13 of them, all same way, hole dug twice as wide as pot, same depth as pot it came in. We did mix some good top soil into the hole with the clay, then we water. We add manure every spring.

We water every summer as needed, usually with buckets of water, sometimes with hose very slowly letting the water seep through.

As far as posting two different trees, I thought it was the same problem on both trees.

if you planted 13 .. and ONLY two are problems.. frankly.. in my world ... + 80% odds is doing pretty god ...

still interested in the mower exhaust theory ... we are creatures of habit.. i tend to go around trees the same way every time ...

what i am seeing.. is that there was bud damage in winter or spring.. and there was no new flush.. where you are seeing yellowish .. why did those buds die before they extended????

a bug .. would not be that localized .... look in there.. and see if there is severe branch damage... like cracked at transport ...???

ken

No branch damage that I can see.

I am thinking that maybe it is a combination of two things tree didnt get as much water as it needed during the summer and the lawnmower gets too close causing damage to the buds on the lower branches? We are definately going to extend the mulch area around all the trees.

Bingo! Just found the issue.

You said "planted it same depth as pot it came in". Its possible you planted it too deep. Can you go identify the rootflare and ensure its at ground level?

What I would do, if it were my tree, is look very closely for signs of insect damage (galls, webbing together of dead needles, aphids crawling around, etc) and disease (color of the discoloration of needles, resin on the surface of branches, etc). If I couldn't determine the cause of the problem, I'd contact my local ag extension office and arrange to take a sample in for analysis. I totally agree with Ken that loosing one out of thirteen relatively recently-planted trees isn't all that bad, BUT you still need to know if there is a problem that could spread to your other trees.

I do see some potential for planting problems. Amending the backfill soil and possibly(?) not checking the rootflare depth could lead to problems, but I think we are very very far from any determination that either of those issues was at the root of the problem. Improper planting does contribute to a sizable percentage of landscape failures, but sometimes I think these issues are blamed before there is just reason to do so.

If you don't see something, when you look carefully at the tree, that sheds more light on the problem, take a sample to your local extension office and see if they can help. Some offices seem to be much more helpful (informed) than others, but it's worth a try! I don't think you said where you live, but a quick google search should turn up contact info for your local extension office.

Brandon, curious why you're thinking we are "very very far from any determination that either of those issues are the root cause" (the amending and planting depth)

A three old pushing 1" of growth sporadically, losing new needles from the new growth and knowing that the plant was planted at pot level is strong evidence there could be root issues.

Not to say insects or disease aren't the issue but the facts and images presented don't point to either of those potential issues.

The next easy step should be identification of the rootflare and up-close pics of the needles.

"A three old pushing 1" of growth sporadically, losing new needles from the new growth and knowing that the plant was planted at pot level is strong evidence there could be root issues."

I think "could be" is the key to that statement though. When I read that, I thought of this analogy: If I was in the same room with someone that had chicken pox a couple of weeks ago and now I feel an itch, could I confidently diagnose myself with chicken pox?

"...the facts and images presented don't point to either (insect damage or disease)."

I disagree with you there. At least I'll say that what I see is strong evidence there could be insect damage or disease.

I'd say the next step is to look for any of the signs we've mentioned so far while keeping an open mind to the possibilities.

All good possibilities especially planting depth. Certainly does not look insect related, but you never know. Just to throw one more wad of mud at the wall, you would not happen to have a big dog that likes to water the lower branches would you?

I am having an issue with a neighbours dog, have actually issued a complaint with our bylaw officer here but I have never seen the dog near my spruce trees, he seems to like my hydrangea bushes!

Don't blame the dog for your spruce. I don't think he had anything to do with it.

Needles do turn yellow for this type of damage but the damage is quite high in the first pic so this would have to a be pretty tall dog.

Makes me terribly grateful my 'tall' dog squats instead of lifts his leg. LoL He's a sissy. I've a Great Dane that no one could ever accuse of abusing their bushes or trees in this manner! ;)

~Tina