Looks like a fungus to me. Just a guess...

Looks like you have let this issue progress to the point that the tree needs to be replaced

Did you call your county extension agent. They will usually come to your place and diagnose your problem for free.

Dave

Thanks Dave. I posted a reply in the old thread. I did take a clipping to a garden shop today.

Did you buy this conifer from the same nursery you took the clipping to?

I tend to be very suspicious of their amateurish diagnosis unless you spoke to a trained horticulturist.

Black spots on leaves or conifer needles need expert analysis to determine what the real issue is that is causing you problem.

I would remove it now. I would bet if a couple strong hands grabbed hold of that tree you could pull it right out of the hole. In its stressed condition probably no root growth has taken place.

After you have it out of the ground hose the root ball to expose root structure. You could find there is not enough root structure there to promote its ability to grow and be healthy. If that's the case there's your answer to you problem. If not then disease and I revert back to fungus is the villain. What ever the cause I would clean up the planting area to the extent not one needle is left in the mix to re-infect your new planting.

Dave

It was a trained horticulturist that I spoke to. However, IMO he didn't look at it very closely so you may be right that it wasn't an accurate assessment.

One more piece of the puzzle - there is a crabapple tree that was planted at the same time and is about 6-8 feet away. It clearly has a fungus on the leaves which is well described in crabapples. That started several years ago as well. I will admit I have been bad in not spraying the crabapple as required in early spring. Is it possible the same fungus spread from the crabapple to the spruce?

The crabapple should be "curable" by spraying appropriately next spring. If they are the same fungus though, I will likely never save the spruce though.