Did you buy this conifer from the same nursery you took the clipping to? I tend to be very suspicious of their amateurish diagnosis unless you spoke to a trained horticulturist. Black spots on leaves or conifer needles need expert analysis to determine what the real issue is that is causing you problem. I would remove it now. I would bet if a couple strong hands grabbed hold of that tree you could pull it right out of the hole. In its stressed condition probably no root growth has taken place. After you have it out of the ground hose the root ball to expose root structure. You could find there is not enough root structure there to promote its ability to grow and be healthy. If that's the case there's your answer to you problem. If not then disease and I revert back to fungus is the villain. What ever the cause I would clean up the planting area to the extent not one needle is left in the mix to re-infect your new planting. Dave

There are several diseases that Colorado Blue Spruce are susceptible to. Also the holes sound like possibly you've had sapsuckers (birds) going at the trees. Perhaps you could take some pictures and sen or take to your local county extension office. Someone there should be able to help you. Here is a link that might be useful: Spruce diseases

Yes, 'Globosa' :) I won't discredit Ken Salvail for making a mistake, he owns an award winning landscape company and has all sorts of informative youtube videos, he's human and entitled to a blunder, though maybe should be a bit more observant of names, but I'm also guilty of the same :) I planted a very full and compact 'Globosa' about eight years ago. The thing grew slowly in my dryish somewhat nutrient deficient soil, though picked up the pace to loosen and open up and produce a dominate leader that was lookin to take charge. So, for the first time, I pruned the entire specimen and will continue with that in order to keep it in it's current location.

Depending on your location Picea pungens may not be the option for a long and healthy screen due to the needle diseases they are subject to in humid climates. Replace with Picea omorika. My Picea abies screening is 18' on center. Picea omorika ranges from 13 to 15' on center.