did anyone water them while you were gone for 6 weeks ...???

were they watered properly ... at the root zone??? sprinklers are probably insufficient ....

i doubt any need for chemicals ....

contact your seller for warranty information ...

ken

When I see browning on a new tree/shrub I typically think underwatering/drying too. But this is a very timely question...

I just spoke to my seller today about a dying pricey dwarf siberian spruce I bought this spring. The symptom was browning bottom to top. His diagnosis was too much water - crown fungal rot. I was shocked. I definitely did not think I was overwatering them. The soil is good average draining soil. I've treated them the same as several dozen other new shrubs and trees over the years. I guess our record rains in May/June really set it off. He said they were getting a LOT of this problem this year and he is not going to sell serbian spruce again. I guess they are particularly vulnerable???

I also have a new Pinus parviflorus (sp?) with a small amount of browning going on. I've been trying to keep up with the watering. I'm going to go get my moisture meter before I water again! But that browning is on the top, so I'm not as concerned about crown rot.

Ok, I was wrong, they are dwarf Spruces (see, I'm not an expert). Here are pics:

{{gwi:273370}}
{{gwi:273372}}

They were not sprinkler irrigated while we were away. I don't seen any signs of fungus or parasitic growth. Any ideas????

Absence of the light from the back. Portion of yours Alberta spruce that doesn't have a direct sunlight will die while sun exposed part will prosper.
Although AS are prone to mites damage if stressed by drough, it seems to be not a cause in your case since mites can't do so much damage in just 6 weeks.
Wrong siting, IMO.

Patchiness and varying patterns visible in two photos would, in fact, suggest mites to me. Anyway, problems with browning out are chronic and widespread with this notoriously bothersome selection*, whether yours have mites or some other problem expect more of same if you do not learn how to manage these. Since you paid that much if you can take them back and get a credit that would be better than pitching them, which is what I would do if they weren't 100 bucks.

*Have been many questions on this site about browning out of dwarf Alberta spruce and similar issues

I'm thinking that white siding reflects quite a lot of light and heat back at the plants, at least in the case of the second one shown.

I didn't know these plants could cost that much. If I was spending that kind of money, I'd have selected something much nicer and more likely to thrive. I don't believe there is any recorded incidence of these thriving anywhere. Doesn't have to be rare, just nice. Maybe Wichita Blue type junipers.

I don't believe the light issue, as the house faces the sun most of the day. I could plant these right out in the front yard and that same side wouldn't get any more light.

We have one out across the driveway that was there when we bought the house and it does very well with almost no special attention.

If it were mites, what would I spray with? Any idea what the symtoms (besides browning) would be? I will search the forums now that I know that they are spruces and not junipers (!). I am thinking that spraying an insecticide might be worth trying.

So I gather that these are not known to thrive well? They are planted on either end of our front porch and we thought they would border the end so the porch well. We could take them back and try to get something else. Any suggestions for something in Eastern MA? We wanted something that would top out at 5-6 feet and was narrow in profile.

Thanks for the suggestions, I value the collective expertise at these forums greatly......!

JH

Dude, you paid WHAT for common dwarf alberta spruce? OMG!

and it's most likely mites, the biggest pest problem for these.

is what you would use, but understand those holes will not likely fill in and it will be a long time before their shape is attractive again. You will continue to have this problem through out their lives.

If you planted these for their ultimate size, are you aware the get 8' wide?

I sprayed them with Malathion last night. Will wait 24-48hrs then rinse them vigorously.

Yes, we paid $100 for them, not being a regular nursery customer I had no idea what the going rate was. The tag says they top out at 5-6 feet. I would not imagine that would get to 8' wide.......

I've seen a few of these do well ... the one next door which was planted by my neighbors still looks good, though I had expected it to die quickly (my neighbors are not plant people).

It only gets partial sun (in a setting between the two houses), and is not as close to the house as your plants are. It's gets no care other than what nature provides ... and maybe a quick watering now and again.

There are another couple nice ones down the street on the outside of a fenced in backyard. These have done ... and continue to do ... extremely well, though the original owners have moved ... and the plants get no extra care.

There also was a nice one in the backplot of my parents' apartment a couple years ago. It was the largest one of these I have ever seen in a residential setting, maybe 8' tall, 4-6' wide. My parents used it for an outdoor Christmas tree.

All of the other Dwarf Alberta Spruces I have seen over the years have all looked various degrees of horrible. Maybe there's some unattractive transition period they have to go through, ... ?

Whatever ... this is one plant ... which has almost always struck me as 'sickly'.

There is one other planting of Albertas on our development's main street ... which were planted to shield the view of some utility boxes.

These plants seemed to be doing okay ... but they recently started to revert back to the species growth patterns ... and all of a sudden, you've got something that will grow into a full-sized White Spruce (60' tall X 20' wide).

{{gwi:273375}}
Reverting Dwarf Alberta Spruce

Considering what you paid for the plants, I would try to get my money back ... or an exchange ... for something better looking and more stable (maybe junipers ?).

"The tag says they top out at 5-6 feet. I would not imagine that would get to 8' wide......."

The tag lied. they grow to about 12 feet high but very very slowly about 4" a year.