Looks normal to me.

Frank

it does have usual winter bronzing ....

increased until fully established ... which can take a CONIFER a few years ...

BUT.. and there always seems to be one ... it does look a bit much ....

BUT.. another one.. lol ... you wont know until spring thaw.. to see if it greens up.. and takes off ... at worst you might have a little damage ... but it otherwise looks fine ...

first pic.. now the ones behind do NOT look good ...

ken

ps: tree spikes are useless.. you would just as well.. if you sent me the money.. and i prayed for them ... dont waste your money again ...

The bronzing is completely normal. No need to worry about that at all.

Definitely skip the fertilizer spikes next year. In the UNLIKELY event that your soil is nutrient deficient and your tree NEEDS fertilizer, have a soil test done and use the PROPER fertilizer.

What's that black ring around the base of the tree?

Also, it's time to remove those stakes!

Thanks for the responses! The black rings are drip hoses and the ones behind our trees are our neighbors (he forgot to water them this summer) and said they must have a disease :)

Oh OK, now I see the hose. Here I thought I was being observant....

they need constant proper water the first season..

and most likely.. ONLY water in severe drought the second ...

and should be totally free range by next season ... [maybe you can recycle the drip.. and sell it to the neighbor.. lol ...

the color contrast looks stark.. because the plant is not large or thick enough.. to hold the interior green .... in a few years.. the bronze will be a much cooler winter effect ...

but if there is any insignificant damage.. the plant will recover.. but you will not know until its start budding out ...

i wouldnt waste any time worrying about it ...

i will note.. and give kudos for having a single leader tree .... it appears the neighbor did not ... are all your trees such????

ken