I can see how in the South with such extended heat so many backyard veg gardeners make use of mulch but I was raised that the health of the soil requires exposure to air,sunlight and rainwater. Husband came from a family of farmers and his Dad was possessive of my small veg. garden and taught me the same respect for the soil that my own parents had. This was up North but Mom was from down South and she from a family who never used a lick of mulch on flowers or vegetables. I never saw or heard of voles until I came South to an area where every neighborhood was newer and every house was 'landscaped' and embalmed in pinestraw. Wonderful habitat for voles. Doing all their damage out of sight of owls and hawks and snakes. I've been through 4 major droughts here and what little rain we did get went directly to the soil instead of soaking/dampening inches of pinestraw only to evaporate the next day while the shrubs suffered further. Mulch saves you time and labor which is what generations before us accepted as part of the soil husbandry required to feed our families. If your tomatoes don't produce as expected, you have options those previous generations did not have. me..I like to feel the tilth of the soil in my hands and smell its richness and know when it is ready to accept seeds I need to grow food or beautiful flowers. I don't want to pull back the mulch, organic or black plastic and find that stinking white filiment fungus that grows in the damp, out of sunlight.

i am surrounded by neighbors .... who have pungens like yours ... i have a ton of picea pungens in my collection.. all under 14 years old ... none of them are affected ... effected.. whatever ... one old lady neighbors husband... just before he passed... had his 35 pungens ... limbed up about 15 feet .... they looked better.. but it didnt change anything... he's been gone 5 years or so ... and she is left with 35 carp trees ... they were probably planted in teh 70s when teh house was built.. encircling the one acre lot on 3 sides ... the one next door... paid to have his 35 footers sprayed for about 5 years running... with no real impact ... except a boat payment for the sprayer and the chem maker ..... IMHO ... get it out of there.. as soon as you can afford it ... as to fertiing ... a mature tree... fert the lawn.. and the tree will steal anything it needs... same with water ... some suggest a tree .. and conifers are trees.. is twice as big below ground as above.. but in a rather flat pancake shape .... and if you contemplate that.. you think.. my God.. where would i fert it ... etc ... and i say.. the lawn ... and forget about spikes and what not ... how do you know.. wherever you might pound it in.. that the tree will take advantage of it ... crikey,.. the trees feeder roots might be over in the neighbors lawn ... finally.. i would NEVER spray a blue tree .. you will ruin the blue wax [just like a hosta] .... so whats the point???? i dont know what you mean by high water table.. but one would expect a tree to utilize such ... listen to me.. these are FOREST trees .. no one ferts them.. no one waters them.. so dont over think it all ... they either survive.. or they dont.. and there really is little you can do ... once fully established after planting ... they ... IMHO ... take care of themselves.. like ALL trees do ... they have been doing it for millions of years ... make any sense??? get rid of the oldster.. when you can afford it .. and dont worry about the relative babes... they might get the same in 30 or 40 years ... i know i wont be around to worry about it then.. and if i happen to be.. i will just be drooling myself.. and not really care .. lol ken

bluebars: This is so sad. I am sorry. Perhaps it is possible to give a level of application of this weed control product that most trees can tolerate while still killing weeds in a lawn. I would never take the risk. Also, I do believe that Norway spruce are more susceptible to poisoning from this product than some other kinds of trees. Norway spruce is one of my absolute favorite trees, and one of its virtues is its very high disease and insect resistance in most parts of the country. These trees are very tough, and also have wonderful drought resistance. But this susceptibility to weed control chemicals is a weak point. I often see some poor looking trees that are weakened if not completely killed by these chemicals. Needless to say, I hate them. The chemicals are designed to kill most everything except grass. Trees, in this regard, are "weeds." Most trees can survive light applications of these chemicals because they are so big and strong, but their basic susceptibility to the chemicals is the same as the weeds. I won't use them around any trees because it has negative effects no matter how light the application. Before we moved here to the Winchester area we lived in Arlington, VA. At the back of our property there we had the most wonderful line of NS trees--especially wonderful in the variation in appearance (growth form, foliage, etc) from tree to tree. Two years ago we went back to see how the old house was doing. The owner invited us in to see the renovations, etc. Out the back I saw all our NS trees dead or dying. All the weeds in that part of the lawn were gone, but also the trees, that were not only beautiful in themselves, but also a wonderful screen blocking the view from the houses behind. Awful! I must admit that I have a different attitude about lawns than most people. Weeds in a lawn dont really bother me, unless there is some kind that completely takes over and then doesnÂt provide a good ground cover. I really love dandelions, etc. and others that produce nice flowers at different times of the year. My attitude is one that was held for many years in this country. If you ever go to Monticello (Jefferson"s home) in VA and take the garden tour, you will probably be told about how people felt about lawns in those days and how the variety of plants that mixed in with the grasses were thought to be a plus. One of the "weeds" that grew in lawns at that time gave a wonderful fragrance when stepped on. I wish my view of lawns were more common. I have tried to talk to my friends about allowing more variety in their lawns and to stop using these chemicals, but I am sorry to say I donÂt think in all the years I have been doing this that I have made a single convert. There are some people I have met who agree with me, but I have never changed any minds. What to do? Two possible solutions. First, one can place mulch around the trees. Because the roots can extend so far, this may not be practical in most situations. Perhaps mulch closer to the tree, and then some kind of ground-cover plant extending further out or a flower garden, maybe. For the lawn--if the weeds get too bad, kill the old lawn with all the weeds, etc--perhaps with Roundup or something that is active on the foliage and not in the ground, and then replant with a kind of seed guaranteed to be weed seed free. Weeds will eventually come back, however. Perhaps for a long time they can be controlled in areas near trees by hand weeding them out. If it is a choice between the trees and the grass--I choose the trees every time. --Spruce

forget about rust and spraying.. its all normal ... i suspect recent transplant.. within 3 years.. and a large transplant at that.. they stress more in that regard... can you add any facts in that regard ...??? i suspect a weather anomaly ... adding to the stress above... i had 8 weeks near 100 with total drought.. most of my conifers look like this.. can you add any more pertinent facts ... ??? the key.. or the future of this plant is in its buds.. of which there are no pix ... but next years buds are already there ... they should be tan brown.. and hard as nails... and as long as they remain so.. this plant is ready for next year.. [dead or dying buds turn black and mushy] go out there.. and trace back 6 to 9 inches.. and you will see where last years buds were .. and you will note no browning of this years crop of needles.. then track back to the prior set of buds.. and you will note there is no brown.. so last years growth is fine .. and then track back further.. and you will probably see some browning on the oldest needles.. this is NORMAL ... no conifer holds its needles forever.. usually only 1 to 3 years .. all older needles are shed.. interiors of conifer are bare.. so what you are seeing is within normal limits ... now.. look up to the leader ... this tree is getting established.. because you will note the rather normal aggressive growth now starting ... much more than the horizontal growth.. this tree is wildly happy ... but as above.. trace down.. it has needles on the trunk only from this year.. and last year.. and is shedding those needles 3 years back ... and as you trace the trunk further down.. you will note it is bare.. and starting to form mature bark ... which is needle-less ... whoever suggested chemical intervention is wrong.. and frankly .. probably only wants to sell you something you dont need ... and since its all normal.. spraying is just pollution ... step away from this plant.. and relax.. it is doing fine ... i would increase the mulch to another foot or two.. and start wondering what you are going to do.. when this thing is 50 to 100 feet tall .... do not start trimming the horizontal growth.. to keep it confined to what little space it has now ... this is a forest tree of great potential .... not some tree you are going to keep as a cute little xmas tree in the middle of your lawn ... there are named varieties which would be better suited for that ... good luck ken Here is a link that might be useful: its native potential