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| I moved into my current house a little over 2 years ago and we have this very tall evergreen in our front yard that I am concerned about. There were already some dead branches closer to the base when we bought the house, and I've noticed that there continues to be some browning and subsequent dying of some branches in the same area.
I'm wondering what if there's anything I can do to address this and whether some of those dead branches should be pruned. It's really too bad because it's otherwise a great looking tree and its the one closest to the street in our front yard. |
Here is a link that might be useful: GardenWeb
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| Your link doesn't work. Just links to the "upload a photo" page. |
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- Posted by duluthinbloomz4 zone 4a (My Page) on Sun, Jun 3, 12 at 9:34
| The real experts will weigh in. I suppose you could look for pests and diseases. But natural aging and heavy clay soils affect spruce trees. I have a fair number of spruce that over quite a few years I've "cleaned up" - the brown and bare branches won't regenerate; prune them off. If it continues and you're continually limbing up, consider a new tree especially since it's in a prominent yard position. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 3, 12 at 10:50
| its Picea pungens ... aka blue spruce. its a conifers.. but they are also trees... there is a conifer forum.. but those peeps hang here for the most part.. otherwise i dont care where you post. .. see link .. looks a lot like Rhizosphaera needle cast .. just starting contact your COUNTY extension office.. and find out if it is a problem ... wherever you are ... ken |
Here is a link that might be useful: pdf link
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sun, Jun 3, 12 at 12:39
| Ken's correct-probably rhizosphaera, fungal disease which kills past years' needles. It could also be cytospora canker, in which case you'd also see masses of pitch at the point where the infected branch(es) exit the trunk. Both are serious diseases of some species of spruce, with Colorado spruce being especially vulnerable. What to do? Remove all affected branches at the trunk. Discard them, burn them, or some method which will not allow for continued spread from the infected tissue. Keep the soil moist in hot, dry weather, by watering at the ground level, not with a sprinkler. While dry soil is a part of the set of conditions that set this tree up for problems, moisture in the air and on the foliage itself are also contributing factors. If the problem persists, it may be time to start a fungicide program. Even such an old-school material as Bordeaux Mix can be effective, while being relatively safe for the person doing the application. But I'd concentrate on cultural factors and removing affected branches long before I'd go the fungicide route. I have personally seen this disease halted in its tracks just by vigilant removal of the diseased branches coupled with general efforts toward keeping the tree healthy. And at least from what I see in the pic, yours isn't so bad at present, IOW's, highly likely to be savable. +oM |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sun, Jun 3, 12 at 12:41
| What's more, there are so few branches affected on your tree, it may just be some kind of mechanical injury to those few branches. Or some unknown factor resulting in the death of these few. It just doesn't quite look like rhizo, from what I can tell. +oM |
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| Thanks wisconsitom, Ken and duluthinbloom4. Your input was extremely helpful. I didn't even know what kind of tree this was and now in researching rhizosphaera since you all mentioned it as a possibility, it really sounds consistent with what I'm seeing. I've seen this browning pattern on this tree in the lower branches for the past 3 springs including the current one. It looks like I've got some pruning to do. I'm just getting acquainted with the three-cut method. Thanks a lot. |
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