Jdog- Congrats on the baby, sorry to hear about your tree. That's a great way to memorialize a big event, however it would have been smarter to wait until the spring to plant it. At a 6 ft. tall, you most likely bought at a nursery, and they will usually have a warranty. However, in Nov. I'm going to guess it was heavily discounted, and possibly not under warranty at the Disc. price. Check with the nursery. If you happened to find one that large at one of the big box stores, exercise the warranty, they will take anything back no matter what you paid for it. I would call the nursery where you got it and inquire about what to do, or have them come look at it. November might have been pushing it a little bit. Depends on the year, and how late in Nov. it was. I try not to plant anything after Oct. 31 in west central Ohio. From my experience though, once a conifer starts dropping needles at greater rates than normal, there is almost nothing you can do to bring it back. For conifers to dry is better than to wet, though neither is good. Someone with more expertise may be able to give you some better advise then me, but that's my experiences for what it's worth. Eliot P.S. It's never to late to plant another one, and you can have the baby out there with you for the planting too. Would be kind of neat to have a plaque or rock engraved or something that you can sit in front of it with the name/date etc. I've done that for a couple of trees before.

no conifer has needles on the inside .... all needles are shed in 1 to 3 years .... i am thinking you are just noticing it more due to its size ... this is normal .. and it can be increased in drought .... many of the local picea pungens get ratty looking as they age .... suffering a host of problems .... when the tips get brown you have problems ... and i cant really tell what the problem is with the tips 25 feet off the ground.. as i suppose you couldn't even get a picture if you wanted ... try the link .... and see if any of the pix look like your problem ... short of giving it water.. there isn't much more to do .... is there any way to give it a good long.. DEEP soak .... it doesn't have to be that much water.. it just needs to get down to the roots ... in my world... the cost of 2 years of spraying.. plus the health consequences... you have to have this done professionally .. would be better spent on removing and replacing the tree ... preferably with something that would not be susceptible to this disease ... its everywhere.. be done with it.. but i live in a cruel world .. lol .. whatever you decide ... i wish you .... good luck ken Here is a link that might be useful: kemper site

Yes, all the blue spruce trees around the country are dying. It's not the weather, it's not global warming, and it's not fertilizer. It's a fungus that grows under the bark and is killing the trees. It's relatively new (about 10 years old), but plant pathologists aren't aware of it yet. I've been studying it for 10 years now. Incidentally, it also affects other trees and shrubs! For lack of a name, I refer to it as "white canker" since it generates white internal fungal growth that chokes off the trees vascular system. I have a website devoted to information on this disease.

It's not a USDA office. It's the University of California Cooperative Extension Service. You can locate your county's office by using this interactive map: http://npic.orst.edu/pest/countyext.htm Take more than "a sample" -- take a picture of the tree and its surroundings and also take an image of only the tree. Be ready to discuss the tree's history, including how often you watered it, the method (drip; handheld hose; sprinkler; or . . . ), and more.