Since it's patchy I'm inclined to think it's some kind of blight rather than dehydration (newly planted stock can often have problems with how water moves into and out of undisturbed rootballs or amended planting hole backfill). You should probably attempt to have it identified by Colorado Cooperative Extension, if possible, as well as check inside the original rootball for dryness.

If Extension won't work for you maybe there is someone at an independent nursery that could tell you what it is. Either way samples of the affected parts will need to be collected and shown.

It is planted high ... but I decide not to move it ... would probably make things worse (I thought).

Location: this tree finds itself in a ton of snow, as its location turns out to be in the middle where a large and long snow drift forms ... when the winds blows snow off my long fence line and it accumulates where this tree is ... sometimes 3' to 5' deep. The snow in this area melts long after the snow everywhere else my yard is gone. Its almost like a little glacier in the yard, because the windblow snow accumulates and then re-accumulates on ton of ice ... during Dec -> Apr ... so then after the snow finally melted, is when I noticed the brown branches starting on the bottom.

I did come across something called snow blight that almost sounds like a possibility.

http://www.forestpests.org/nursery/snowblightcon.html

So would an application of fungicide be helpful, like Ortho Multi Prupose Fungicide with Daconil 2787 ?

I have taken recent pictures, but I had pruned away all the dead branches from the bottom ... and have since noticed a few more totally dead branches on the bottom that are new. The top may be looking somewhat better since I took these pictures. From a distance, looks decent. Up close, not as good.

It is planted high and perhaps I need to mound more dirt around it??

Ideas appreciated.

dear doctor...

should i medicate.. before a proper diagnosis is made... based on conjecture???

properly ID the problem ... see ron's/bboys answer above ....

make sure the chemical is specifically labeled for such ... never use a chemical on a whim ...

we would prefer you shoot the problem with a 22 .. rather than shotgun it...

ken

After getting home from work today, I went out and examined this tree closer. The top branches are looking better and the black areas appeared to be shinking in size and scope. The top branches were covered with the buds (term?) showing the start of a spring flush ... and they looked like large unopened buds right now, not bright green, but certainly there in abundance, which was encouraging to see.

I love the thick branches of this tree and the deep green color.

Is the snow really the issue? I am just imagining places in the Black Hills where snow accumulates that deep and this tree grows fine....
Something else must be to blame.

I agree ... its hard to believe the snow would be the issue, however all the dead branches have been on the windy side thus far.

I also have regular picea pungens nearby with similar snow and wind ... and no issues at all. Planted about the same time.

I will say that I did a lousy job planting this one and the original rootball is easily 1.5 to 2" above grade ... and I didn't berm it very well with additional soil ... so I have thought about minimally doing that.

Here are some more recent pictures. I saw some kind of insect (wasn't an ordinary fly) and took a picture of that ... could that be the cause of these problems?

Here is a new picture of the top of the tree -- it is budding all over, even in the previously blackened areas.

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Here is the mystery bug I saw while taking pictures. This before my finger gave him a jolt.

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Here is a picture of the buds among the sickly needles.
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Top of the tree
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Here is where I had to cut away the branches on the windward side.
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Looks fairly decent on the other side and from a distance. This side doesn't have any dead branches on the bottom. It does have some blackened tips here and there further down, if you look closely.
{{gwi:703958}}

Update -- this tree is making a dramatic comeback. I've never seen so much new growth before on any of my conifers ... this thing is flushing out all over and especially in the areas they looked nearly dead in my original pics.

I know I'm going to take heat from Ken on this, but after discovering tons of bugs on my nearby blue spruces (the christmas trees I was going to plant) ... and seeing bugs on this guy, I decided to spray these trees with the bug b gone ... and it worked well. I don't what all the bugs were, but they died quickly with a water-mix of bug b gone.

I also put some eco-friendly anti-fungal stuff on the black hills spruce, just in case. Maybe its just oil water ... but I had to do something ... and perhaps its working.

So my question now is: since I had to trim a lot of dead material fromt he bottom on one side of the spruce ... should I leave it as is, or trim the other side to match?

Thanks,
Scott

i dont care if you use chem's ....

BUT .. always a big but..

99% of the time you dont need chems...

you should never spray chemicals willy nilly without a proper ID of the bug ...

and you should always mix according to instructions ... and apply accordingly ....

-----

since you did not ID them .. answer these questions ...

did you kill any beneficial insects?

did you needlessly expose the kids [i know you are a lost cause ... lol] in killing said bugs...

etc ...

i used to use chems all the time when i was hooked on roses .. luckily they all started dying as they are prone to do in z5 ... the foo foo collector roses .... and then kids started rolling in .. and i just decided that the bugs can have what the bugs want... because i dont need to expose the kids to it all ...

i would like to confirm a recollection i have ...

the biggest polluter in the US is the home owner .... spraying what need not be sprayed.. using improper mixtures.. and improper application.. etc ... etc ...

anyway buckie .... you planted them last year... they were shocked from it all .. you tended them perfectly .. and they are thriving as indicated by the great growth ... you did well ... as the learning curve increases... just skip the chem's ... i just dont think you will ever really need them ...

trim what.. those branches inches from the bottom.. yeah.. even it out ...

ken

I just thought I'd post a happy update on this tree.

Here it is, looking so much better ... grew like crazy this spring ...
{{gwi:703961}}

you can see it reverting to its normal growth habit... compared to being pruned into the wholesalers preconceived notion of what a xmas tree should look like

i prefer the 'natural' look ....

looks great bunky .... ken