mikebotann, thanks for the response...yes, I did water on a regular basis. It was the bad winter...around here all the conifers got winter burn on the side that got the most sun. The snow stuck and turned to ice and the sun burned the branches. About a third of the tree is dead. No hope for recovery. Happy it is gone. going to put in low shrubs only for a better view from our sitting area.

Thanks everyone! Yep, I will move it out another 2' so that it will be 5' out from the barn. Shortly after planting it I felt like it needed to be out a bit further but guess I wanted some confirmation. We have this big old 3 story wood [100+ yrs. with handhewn timbers] bank barn to the east of the house and there was a bare space to the south of the huge barn door at the top of the bank----then it slopes down and around to the lower half of the barn. Anyways---I thought the Alberta Spruce would make a nice focal point/specimen tree in that bare spot at the top of the slope to the one side of the door and then another 5 or 6 feet out from the tree---planting some Bird's Nest Spruce shrubs in a kind of curve down and around the slope to the bottom. Thought it would look nice and also help prevent any erosion coming down that slope. This is all on the west side of the barn and will get plenty of sun. What do you think of this plan? Sorry if I asked this in the wrong forum but you folks here have always been a big help to me with questions I have had in the past. I really appreciate your advice. Thank you! :) Aunt Lou [just an old gardenin granny out here on the farm]

that was not the proper planting season in your zone... and i am wondering why it was for sale at that time of year.. and am wondering.. if it wasnt meant to be an indoor xmas tree ... meaning ..... it wasnt properly hardened off for planting outdoors.. weeks before severe deep cold ... in which case.. all the needles burned off ... [freeze dried like chicken left in the freezer too long.. all the moisture sucked out of the needles] regardless.. life is all in the buds.. and if those survive winter.. properly dormant.. then there is a chance.. albeit small.. that it will reflush in spring .... i would contact the seller.. and ask them if they will replace the plant in spring ..... any chance at a pic?? ... if you cant read the buds yourself?? ... brown and hard is good.. black and squishy is not ... the proper name is Picea glauca 'conica' should you wish to learn more about this CONIFER ... no use posting in that forum... because most of us hang in both forums.. as conifers are trees.... ken ps: if you go for a replacement... ask how to plant it.. before you do so .... pps: i have had to replace many a gift plant ... lol.. been there.. dont that ... so dont worry about that part ... once even convinced dad.. that the green plant he gave me.. turned into the blue version... lol... P glauca Saunders Blue is the blue version of yours ... Here is a link that might be useful: link

bboy, Like most conifers Thanks, that's exactly what I needed clarified. noki, It is just a small slow growing dwarf tree, maybe they were they trying to hide a utility feature? I think that was part of the original intention when it was planted. But it's also one of a "matched set" on either side of this 2 story wall (it's companion is in a better exposure and is 1' taller) and I'm not a fan of "matched sets" in plantings in general. Plus, they do nothing to break up the vast 2 story expanse of taupe siding. pineresin, Or infect it with spider mites . . . Already has them which is another reason for it to go. It's healthy "mate" is going too. ;-) ken_adrian, props to you for finding the location of utilities.. I would hear my dad screaming from the grave if I didn't. ;-) But you'll appreciate this - the dwarf albertas are planted on either end of a 22' long by 2' deep bed. To the inside of these were 2 globe arbs - one was pruned to a somewhat square shape and one was pruned to an amorphous orb shape. :-/ Pulled those out yesterday. Moved some bulbs from the other end of the bed back over to the area near the problem spruce, and I'm working about hand digging (literally) since it was 3' from the entrance point of where the markouts indicated the lines entered and this area was previously covered by the globe arb. Hello. Within 6" of the foundation, and a full 3' from where the markouts tell me the cables are supposed to be is my power main coming up from its deep trench and bending back towards my meter. How this is code is beyond me, but not a huge surprise given some of the weirdness in this complex in general. Good tale to take back to your friends on the perennial forum. Trust *nothing* within a 6' radius, especially if there's a "builder's special" bed involved and a sidewalk in close proximity. You can't count on the wiring making the "logical" run you may think it does.