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

How big of a root ball and was it intact or broken? A short conifer such as this should not have taken a tilt in high wind if the root ball was substantial enough to anchor it in the ground. The needle drop is from stress and probably not enough root mass to support topside foliage. I see browning out midway up the plant which is not a good thing. There is a good chance this plant won't be a survivor. A good rule of thumb is never by plants that have been sitting around all Summer especially if root B&B. It was probably dead when you planted it. Buy early ,March/April, when planting B&B. Save your warrantry and replace next Spring. Dave

The pathogens I've listed in this thread are attackers of primarily pine-family members. There're many, many more forms of say, phomopsis out there. I'm not on that level of detail here, but the phomopsis I'm referencing here is active on spruce. There's a more well-known phomopsis tip blight of junipers, and I'll be honest, I don't know exactly what the relationship between the two types is. But suffice to say, these are pathogens of spruce we're talking about here. So final answer-these particular pathogens don't even necessarily attack all conifers. But they are virulent on spruce, particularly those spruce species having the drier parts of the American west as their home base. BTW, it's not soil moisture at play. Even in the Rocky Mountains, something like Colorado spruce is going to grow where there's sufficient moisture in the soil. No...it's our high atmospheric moisture that gets them in the east, or here in the upper Great Lakes region. Our air is too humid. Two different things. Just like many gardeners think moisture is the cause of powdery mildew on their lawns and garden plants, when in fact, the plants' being stressed out by drought or just a too-dry soil, are then predisposed to attacks by these leaf-inhabiting fungi, which do take advantage of dew and fog in the late summer period to spread. But they weren't started by this moisture. If anything, they were predisposed to this problem by dryness. But I digress (like I always do!).

It is not a blue spruce but an Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica), and the pink needles at the end of the branch tips are signs of a very common needle blight on these and Deodar cedars. Usually it appears rather early in spring, encouraged by our mild and damp climate. And it tends not to be all that serious........generally just clipping off the damaged portions will suffice in keeping the disease in check. It seems to show up most often on the weeping forms of these, where removal is manageable due to a lower height. If you do nothing, the needles will eventually turn brown and fall off. Best to rake up and dispose of all dead needle at base of tree to limit spread. Cedrus Needle Blight