Bug ID needed on ailing black hills spruce w pics

bunkers

15 years ago

Any idea what this is or if it could be related to the damage I'm seeing on my black hills spruce?

the bug:

{{gwi:703946}}

the tree:

{{gwi:703944}}

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Comments (2)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
conifers are commonly known as evergreen ....

i swear a conifer can be dead for months.. before it browns and loses its needles ...

ergo .. the brown tissue probably developed over the winter.. probably due to the transport and transplant to your garden ...

this fly .. no matter what it is.. hatched a few hours ago ...

how can it be anywhere in the equation as to why this is the second or third BHSpruce you are having trouble with???? and how it may be related to tissue that browned months ago ???

are you hoping for better answers over here .. instead of the conifer forum.. where we usually hang out... lol ...

good luck on the ID ... knowledge is power.. but i dont think its going to answer the browning problem ....

ken

PS: boy thats a lot of whitish mulch ... do these things get any protection from the sun any time of the year ???? reflective sun ... in winter .. can be very problematic ... perhaps sunburning the needles.. not only from above.. but from below with that mulch and snow ... i know there is nothing you can do about it.. with the drainage field ... and i suspect that once the plant gets more 'established' ... it will be able to overcome it all ...
bunkers
Original Author
14 years ago
Ken, the mulch isn't really that white -- its my overexposed shot using the digicam. It is old and needs a nice new layer added, no doubt.

This particular tree was planted the same day I got it, in May 2007 ... this wasn't one that was transplanted over the last winter. But it still probably was struggling that first year, no doubt.

Well, I'm just hoping for an insect ID, whether I get it here or in the conifers forum. I tried my local extension as wellas you suggested -- no answers anywhere. So just wondering when the right person will come along and tell me what this bug might be. I know it may not be a problem or even the cause of the problems for this particular tree ... I agree, but I'd still like to know.

I also have admitted that I planted this guy high and didn't do a good job of mounding more soil around it. A few days back, I did add in a bunch more local soil around it and re-mulched it better to help it retain moisture better.
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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
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tj... Gertens is about 25 minutes from me. I've been there 2-3 times already this year, but not in the last 6 weeks of so. Maybe a quick trip up there is in order. Or, at least a browse of their online catalog. I bought a tree-form Diablo Ninebark there last year, and besides the powdery mildew, it's growing fantastically! you have succeeded as a REAL gardener .. when the hosta peeps come on a tour .. and ignore the hosta .. to look at all the other things that are so unusual ... then you have a top of the line garden ... Ken, thanks for the kind words. I don't think my garden would ever be worthy of the national AHS convention. It's said that you need to have 45 minutes of interest to be on the tour. And while one or two of the eight on tour here in MN last year failed in that regard, I don't think I could beat them. I do not care for "ordinary", other than the Colorado Blue. But a dwarf blue may be my best solution. whaas... on the far left of the pic is a silver maple. They line my entire back lot. My hostas seem to grow in spite of them. I'm starting another garden under a huge silver maple (out of frame) and will likely put those hosta in SpinOut bags. The tree in the middle of the pic is a Box Elder.... I HATE those trees! But this one is on the property line. Last year, I took out another Box Elder (my portion of it anyway) and asked the neighbors if they wanted me to take out there portion... 4 pathetic trunks at a 45 degree (or less) angle to the ground. They declined. So, now, I'm stuck with a suckering stump. I digress. All, I appreciate your zeal for weeping types like Picea engelmannii 'Bush's Lace', but they are not for me (or hubby, for that matter), at least, not in this spot. For this location, I want to stick with something more upright.
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Bug ID needed on ailing black hills spruce w pics

Comments (2)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

bunkers
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Bug ID needed on ailing black hills spruce w pics

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

bunkersOriginal Author

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bunkers
Original Author