Right now, you might want to plant massed species Marigolds in that spot, They're supposed to suppress the nematode populations that seem to be related to the ingress of A. tumefaciens into woody plants. Calendula is another nematode supressant. Jeri, I'm not sure about Carolina Lady. I've also read that it's very close to The Fairy, but I just don't see it being that close. LC seems to bloom a lot earlier and longer. I've got two huge ones (LC) on the fence line and so far haven't seen any gall problems with either. I think that there may be a systemic problem with a lot of The Fairys but the massed ones I had in New Orleans could live and bloom with it; now they've been replaced with a palm tree and azaleas. Once upon a time, rootstocks were chosen for their resistance to crown gall.

My dd (27) and DH (58) both have had to have theirs removed in the past 6 months. Hers was an emergency situation, his was found when his surgeon was preparing to do a double hernia repair. Yes, it does run in families. DH's family has many, many folks who have had to have theirs out in their early 20's or 30's--he was actually quite late, compared to the rest of them. Remember, that the healing for a gall bladder takes 6-7 weeks, during which you shouldn't be pushing things. From what I've learned from my two's experiences, no lifting anything over 5 pounds for the first couple of weeks, and no heavy lifting for at least a couple of months. Take care of yourself--no point in doing further damage. But if you are anything like my bunch, you will be feeling good and will recouperate rapidly. DD works in a job that's not physical at all--she was back to work in a week. DH's job is more physical and he was out of work 3 weeks, then on light duty/half days for the next week--per his dr's instructions. And his employer really thought he should have taken another week or 2 off. So don't push it--take your time to get better. Oh, and dh? Ever since his operation, he's been able to eat all sorts of things that he hadn't been able to enjoy for years. He feels SO much better--but he hadn't even realized his gall bladder was giving him problems. Wishing you the same easy, complete recouperation

link what better source than moo U ... if you have any further questions... maybe jim harbaugh can chime in .. lol ... is this a MI concern?? .. i am down in adrian.. maybe its one of those things that i have been ignoring ... have you had prior issues with such??? ken

I am in MA also, and it was really bad last year, and looks to be equally as bad this year. This damage is actually being caused by two things: cankerworm and winter moth. The bad news is that the new growth on Norway spruce is their favorite feast for conifers. They like the deciduous trees better, but will not pass up a meal of fresh Norway growth. They just about stripped the top of my 'Gold Drift' last year. I was totally unprepared, never saw anything like this on a conifer. Oh yea, Mugo pine is the only other conifer they like better than my norways. They did tremendous damage to my 15yr old Mugo that had never been attacked before. No joke, you can hear them crunching on the ends of the needles. They even eat the mature needles on the Mugo They are back in full force again this year. I'm testing out out Safer brand Bacillus thuringiensis. Hope it works. The 'Gold Drift' recovered nicely this year, but I don't know if it can take another year in a row of attacks! June 2015 May 2016 https://ag.umass.edu/fact-sheets/winter-moth-overview