I put in about 15 Black Hills Spruce during the past three years. All were small plants in 1 gallon pots when purchased. None have died yet. Some are doing really well and looking very healthy. A few are struggling and looking a bit bare. I expect all to survive.

It's normal for spruce and pine to lose a few lower needles as they age and grow.

My research on Black Hills Spruce led to recommendations for wind protection and slight shade protection. The first two trees I put in were 'babied', with a heavy, solid windscreen and 40% shadecloth on the southern exposure. Both of these trees are very healthy with no issues. The second batch of trees were put in with no wind/sun protection. Again, good results, but some protection would have made them better.

I'm in NW Wyoming, Zone 4 with frequent heavy wind and intense sunlight.

IMO, it's a tough tree that does benefit from wind/sun protection, but it's not essential for good results.

Dave in Wyoming

Thanks, I forgot to mention these were all 8' tall when planted in May.

I've attached a pic of the tree. Every day it seems like more needles are falling off. What is causing this and how can it be prevented? Will it survive?

This is very disheartening to me. When it was planted this was such a perfectly symetrical and "full" tree. :-(

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:837105}}

Looks like all the needle loss is in one smallish area at the base - is it being 'watered' there regularly by a dog? Regular application of K9P is very damaging to foliage.

Resin

I'm fairly certain it's not caused by dog pee. I've never even seen a pet on our property.

I think it's generally just thinning out... there is one area that is "thinner" but all around the base it does seem to be dying. Is this normal?

Would wilt-pruf help this spruce out this winter and avoid more needle loss?

Anyone? It got a little worse over the winter... love this tree would like to keep it.

Your tree looks pretty good. I get occasional needle loss similar to what you're experiencing with a wide range of my conifers. Also a Picea glauca 'Pendula' I have is defoliating creating a similar hole as seen on your Picea on the side that doesn't get sun.

As to the smelling, you're on your own there! Also, maybe actually bringing a dog into the equation and having the dog doing some investigating for you might yield the answer.

Lol. (your tree looks fine),

Dax

I think it looks pretty good also! Try to be patient w/it and see what happens (easier said than done I know :).

Hi Dominogold,

Just wondering how your black hills spruce is fairing now. Is it looking better now that it's been in for over a year? I am worried because my 8' black hills spruce, planted this past April, is doing the same thing :(

I loved this tree when we got it, but it's depressing to look out and see it turning dull and orangish at the bottom with needles dropping. It's not terrible looking yet, but it still bugs me all the time. There is new growth on it too on the top, but I can't figure out why the bottom half is doing so poorly.

I'm trying to see if giving it more water will help. This is my first conifer I've ever "owned" so maybe I'm worrying too much, I don't know... If anyone else has any insights or suggestions on how to make it happier, please let me know!

That's normal. And yes watering is needed for newly planted anything. Picea mariana also likes water by the way.

Check the buds, do all that. Smell. Lay crystals and magic rocks around it - no just kidding.

Take care,

Dax

This is still a problem and only getting worse. The needles are now off on the one side of the tree at least half way up. Jeez is there anything I can do to stop this? It doesn't make sense to me. On one side of the tree it looks perfect, on the other side it looks like it's dieing.

Hi dominogold,

I just wanted to chime in with an update case you are still checking the forum (or if there is anyone else with a similar problem). My black hills spruce is actually looking completely cured this spring!

What I did, starting when I first posted on this thread last August, was I started supplementing the water. It was already on several gallon drop emitters so was getting watered regularly along with all the other trees and plants, and the ground around it didn't seem especially dry. But since it was turning orangey-brown, I figured it just *looked* thirsty and I wanted to at least try to give it more water from the hose. I wondered if maybe the drip emitters weren't providing even enough coverage like a natural rain would, so what I did was I sprayed the whole tree and all the needles (instead of around the trunk), and allowed the water to drip like rain down the branches and onto the ground. I did this once a week for a few weeks, and then cut back to every other week in the fall, and it seemed to very gradually be looking better and better. We got pummeled by snow in mid-December which kept up all winter (I'm in the Boulder, CO area), so I didn't water any trees over the winter until the snow finally melted just a couple of weeks ago. I was amazed when the snow melted to see that there is no brown left on the tree. It looks totally green and happy now.

Now that the snow is gone and things are heating up here, I am planning to continue giving it the supplemental waterings every other week or so, at least for this year, and then I'll try cutting back as it gets more established. I don't know if this will help in your case since we're in different climates and maybe Michigan gets enough rain already, but for what it's worth I just wanted to throw it out there. Good luck!

I don't think it's a watering problem... because how could you explain perfect needle coverage on one half the tree and not on the other.

The side that is losing needles is the side that gets full afternoon sun. But I have another Black Hills Spruce that is doing fine with the full afternoon sun so that can't be it.

I'd be interested to hear how its doing now.

My black hill spruce was perfect for the first year, then this spring, a large area died on bottom, just like yours.

Now, in the last couple of weeks ... I'm seeing black ends on the top branches ... I'm getting a bad feeling that its dying with this black tips on the upper branches.

Anything I can do to save mine?