Spruces turn brown!!

wilcinbro

3 years ago

Hi - what is happening here? Lost 2 trees last year as well. Quickly turn brown and die. I am in central Wisconsin.

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
i wouldnt have that big a tree.. that close to my house.. healthy or not ...

Rhizosphaera needlecast and Cytospora canker and the usual suspects ... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=picea+pungens+disease&t=ffcm&ia=web

contact your local county extension office.. and ask them about the current picea pungens plague in your area ...

here is a good WI start .. even her phone number .. if you want to go all old school: https://forestrynews.blogs.govdelivery.com/2018/06/04/rhizosphaera-needle-cast-disease-on-spruce/

ken
wilcinbro thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
pennlake
3 years ago
Shape of the plant in the first picture makes me think it's a fir. Second pic looks like Colorado blue spruce, but can say for sure that's what the dead plant is.
wilcinbro thanked pennlake
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what they said ... but i dont know how they could dig a tree that large.. without some way injuring the lowest branches.. the root mass .. the root ball.. was smaller than the diameter of those lowest branches.. wasnt it?? if so.. it is simply damage to those branches.. caused by such ... do you now if the BB was hand dug or machine dug??? and i would assume that.. due to the rest of the tree looking rather OK ... if that is a current pic.. i wonder why it is so later.. flushing out .. i think i would see if i could alter the grade.. rather than try to lift that monster ... but i note you say the root ball is 6 inches deep ... rather than saying the root flare is ... watering the first inch of soil.. for grass.. has absolutely nothing to do .. with watering the huge conifer you planted.. see link ... especially about watering.. and mulching... ken Here is a link that might be useful: lin
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Weird about it might be getting to much sun...I could have swore the tag said "Full Sun" ? ==>>> sure.. in mother earth.. you changed the whole game.. when you starting thinking that tiny pot is the equivalent of mother earth ... it can only take as much sun.. as the properly sampened media its roots are in can provide water.. which the tree can process while in that pot.. in your circumstance ... peat potting media.. can possibly do two things: dry so much that you will never be able to re-wet it.. and simply watching water run out the bottom does not tell you if the media is actually uniformly damp .. as need be ... i have seen such pots.. where the center is bone dry ... or .. it holds so much water.. even with a drain hole.. that is too wet.. so the problem is bipolar.. for lack of a better word .. you need to poke around in there.. and find out how and when to water.. and how to keep it uniformly moist .. but not at the bipolar ends of the spectrum ... and.. what they said about spider mites.. which attack already stressed plants more than healthy ones ... you are working way outside the normal box.. we can offer suggestions.. but the whole process is tricky.. and you are finding that you win some ... and lose some.. i dont know where you are.. but that should be about a $10-20 plant ... unless i am simply not understanding the scale of the pic ... i know thats not free... but that isnt my definition of expensive ... dont you have a warranty for replacement.??? ken
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Not only is water more effective, using Sevin may increase the spider mite issue, both by killng preditory insects that might control the mites, but also because some research has shown that carbaryl, the insecticide in Sevin, can increase spider mite reproduction. Sevin is an insecticide and ineffective on mites. I tend to use lowest overall impact solutions to garden problems, but if you do choose to use something like carbaryl, it is really crucial to read all the info on when and how to use it. For mites, an insecticide, even a broad spectrum one, won’t be effective because they aren’t insects. As an aside, if you aren’t happy with the brown spots, replace the shrub because the appearance won’t improve much if at all IME.
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wilcinbro
Original Author
3 years ago
Yes, the top picture is a fir - I just love the shape of them. We lost one last year too.
wilcinbro
Original Author
3 years ago
Ken - Thanks for the great link!!
Fred Cain
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Here's my own personal, honest, humble and uneducated opinion: When a tree starts to die like that from the top down, it can sometimes be a sign of moisture stress. Notice that there is a thick stand of pines surrounding the fir (or spruce) tree. Those pines are WAY too close together!

So, if there were a spell of dry weather, that might be your answer. I have noticed that when a conifer dies from the top down, sometimes they will eventually stabilize and might grow a new top. But when they die from the bottom up, they are usually a goner. Why? I really don't know why. That's just what I've observed on my own property, that's all.

So, if you want to try and save the tree, cut off the top, water it well and by all means, THIN OUT THOSE PINES! Even if the tree is a goner, the pines should be thinned out anyways. In a spell of hot, dry weather that could pose a real fire hazard!

FMC,

Topeka, IN
wilcinbro thanked Fred Cain

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Spruces turn brown!!

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

pennlake

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Spruces turn brown!!

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

pennlake

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