spedigrees: Limestone varies in magnesium content. If you go to your local agricultural store--I am not sure what you have up there--and ask for “high mag limestone“--crushed or pulverized--they should be able to direct you. The analysis is always posted on the bag. Dolomitic limestone is generally “high-mag,” but perhaps other types of limestone have a high magnesium content. Our soils here in the northern Shenandoah Valley are very high in magnesium, and high mag limestone underlies a good portion of our soils, and high mag limestone is readily available. And, almost all the NS in this area look very nice, in spite of our hot, dry climate. As for soil acidity--that should not be a problem for Norway spruce, unless the soil is extremely acidic, maybe in the low 4’s. At my timberland, where the soils are a bit below 5, Norway spruce does very well. I am not sure what an optimum pH would be, and it would probably vary with soil type. Maybe somewhere in the 5.5 range is "safe." As for magnesium for Norway spruce--this has been fairly well documented. I titled my original post “a hypothesis,” but there is substantial evidence. A site factors study done at SUNY Syracuse some years ago now, noted that “at least 75 kg per hectare” is needed for good NS growth. Studies in Europe, where there has been extensive decline in NS forests, has shown that the acid rain causes a reduction in the availability of magnesium, and supplementing magnesium often solves the problem. And, I have made some personal observations--not scientific, and without all the facts--that magnesium supplementation can make a dramatic difference. But, the main effect of magnesium may not be in height growth, but in the fullness, density, and lushness of the foliage. I have seen many poor looking, thin foliaged NS trees growing reasonably fast in height. Also, the thin foliage on some Norway spruce trees has causes other than a lack of an optimum supply of magnesium. And, I know, some of that is genetic, and not correctable. As for your experiment: Yes, 5 years should be long enough to show some results, but no sooner. The limestone has to dissolve into the soil, get down to the roots, and, because NS hold their needles for several years, the "thickening" of the foliage may not be vis1ble for several years. BUT, and this is a big "but," the effect may not really show up on very young trees. It may help the growth rate, but as for foliage density, that is never really noticeable until trees are somewhat older and larger--maybe not until they are 20 feet tall or more will any difference be really clear. As for the growth rate: white pine usually starts growing faster than NS. How old are your trees? How tall? NS trees don't begin to grow fast until they are about 4.5 feet high, and that could be only after 6 to 8 years. At that point, they should "take off." On the best soils, and in the right climate, an average of 28 inches is possible, with some years the new shoots elongating up to 4 feet or more. But growth averaging 20 to 24 inches is good for many sites. Norway spruce and white pine, assuming equally good strains, should grow equally well over the first 50 years. The white pine up to about 18 years should outgrow the NS, but after that NS should catch up a bit. After 50 years NS should outgrow the white pine for some years. SUNY Syracuse did a growth curves study for NS, and found that for the first 60 years--after the trees reach 4.5 feet in height, there is no "curve" as such, but a straight line. White pine growth curves bend sharply over to the right after the first 18 years or so, and at 50 years the growth averages about 1 foot, while at the same age, NS trees can still be growing 28 inches per year. But this rate does begin to decline not too long after the 60-year mark. On the best sites both should eventually make 150 feet or more in forest stands. Open grown NS should make 120 feet or more on better sites. As for the blue spruce and magnesium, I really don't know. Tom may be right about this. --spruce

Many thanks for your responses!!! Dax, Whaas: pictures 3 and 4 in my first post show the very same thing from two different angles. Here, you may see some more pictures, showing the same issue: From July 11, 2014 From July 11, 2014 From July 11, 2014 There is something dripping from the tree, actually two things are dripping: one of them is white, and the other is transparent. Whaas, if I remove this part, the shape of the tree will not look nice, but if the removal will make the tree healthier, I would prefer to do it - thinking in long term... The other two trunks look better: From July 11, 2014 From July 11, 2014 Dax, I am not an expert, and don’t have any experience, but from what I see, it looks to me the trees are grafted. The person that sold me the trees didn’t explain much and maybe I just didn’t asked the right questions… But I definitely asked for the maturity size, because I was looking for conifers with narrow habit, and the seller told me that in my region Serbian Spruce cannot spread more than 12-13 feet. I know that the info in internet is different, but the seller was sure about that. I wanted the trees to overlap in the future and to create a screen and a background for the other plants I am planning to plant. So, now the spruces are 9 feet apart. Actually, they are part of a bigger project. You may see here: From July 11, 2014 From July 11, 2014 There is a Weeping Katsura and an Autumn Brilliance: Whaas, Salicaceae: yes, I am planning to create a mulch bed. But everything takes time and I wanted to have the trees planted on time during the spring. Now, little by little we are doing the rest of the project, and I am sure it will take time. Thank you again for helping me and my trees! (sorry for the small picture sizes, it looks like the pictures get resized somehow, I will try to fix that in my future posts)

David, unfortunately my recent checks about a month ago weren't helpful in identifying this fungal pathogen, so it continues to devastate trees and shrubs. Not just blue spruce trees are affected, but so are maple trees and oaks, and people around here are having many of them cut down. Just last month my two neighbors had 5 of these large trees cut down. Mountain ash trees are dying too. And I'd say that 50% of the white pines in this area (southern New Hampshire) are either dead or in decline from this disease. I don't spray mine since I consider them somewhat of a weed, and mine are slowly and continuously losing needles. I expect them to die within a few years. The good news is that this year I've kept up spraying with Mancozeb every two weeks since May 1st. Every tree and shrub I've sprayed (where my spray can reach the foliage) is very healthy. I'm now also working on my grown son's 4 dying spruce trees to see if I can restart growth on the now bare trunk and on other branches. But don't try a "ground drench" with Propiconazole - I tried that last year and it killed off beneficial ground bacteria, harming the trees & shrubs. Fortunately, they're recovering this year with fertilizer and spraying. Norway spruce and linden trees seem to resist this disease best.

I have never posted, but thanks for the answer. I bought the tree in December 2011 and covered the pot with bags I had of mulch. When summer arrived, I had to go away for a month so it never got planted until July. My husband added 2 gallons of water everyday until I came home to plant it. I don't like anyone in my flower beds, but me. I will look for another small tree to plant in front of it. I did plant the ball last year with some Myke. I hope that helped it. My ground is very damp. I put my hands down there last week when it was very warm here in Ottawa. The nursery who sold me the tree, said to leave at least 2-3 inches of the crown out of the ground. Otherwise I cannot get air to the roots. I am new at this, so I am looking for some experienced people who can help me. Thanks for the info.