Where are you located? It looks like transplant shock. How much water has it been getting?

I'm near you, border queens/L.I. I watered almost everyday for 2 weeks after planting, except on a rainy day. haven't watered In a week with all the rain. It's in area that gets part sun almost full

if you remove the bottom branch.. 99% of the problem disappears ...

and i would guess... its damage from field digging the ball and burlap ..

if it were transplanting stress.. i would expect more generalized damage.. not all one branch ...

surprised its still in bud form.. wonder where it was shipped in from ... ill have to check mine ...

ken

i meant.. if you didnt look at that branch ... not remove ...

if there are viable buds on that branch.. and no sign of breakage.. leave it be ... you can always remove next year if it fails.. but you cant glue it back on ...

ken

Shipped from Oregon to nursery in ny

"I watered almost everyday for 2 weeks after planting, except on a rainy day"

Too much.

So check the rootball for moisture a couple of inches from the trunk and 3-4 inches down. If damp, don't water. If dry, then give it a good soaking with a hose on a trickle near the trunk for a couple of hours. Don't water again until its dry again.

Definitely look for some sort of damage on those branches, otherwise I would wonder about a dog but 3 weeks is too quick for K9P syndrome.

tj

P.S. Nice avatar.

I agree with you it might have been getting too much water but on a newly planted tree I wouldn't wait for the soil to dry out before watering. Tree's that are newly planted need more water and this time of the year it's ever more stressed. I planted a variety of Picea Mariana Spruce (Ball and burlap) last year in the heat of the summer and unless I watered the tree every other day it looked very stressed. It recovered when I watered the tree frequently and for a long length of time.

well , yah , planted during heat of summer, you better,,,but slow trickle with hose,,once a week should suffice

ron

Should I cut the branch that's brown or leave alone?

Cutting it off would depend on what the buds on it look like. There is no harm in leaving it for now.

tj

Too much water!

I would cut off the dead branches. It destroys the look of the plant, IMHO.

John N.

I removed most of the Brown branches as you can see from this picture .Thinking back I was watering initially From overhead . I wonder if that's what caused the Browning ?

no,no,no,,,,:) you could drag away some of that mulch at the base,,let it dry out a bit

ron

So leave everything alone? I hate to see brown.

you are seeing damage in 'tree time' ... something happened months ago ... like being dug out of the ground and shipped across the country.. thrown in your trunk and then planted.. bit of stress dont you think ...

but you want to react in 'instant gratification time' .. because you dont like the brown ....

its was stressed... it is stressed .... and you want to slather on some goo ... or maybe what next fert ...

leave it alone.. perfect water as suggested ... and give it a year or 3 ...

you can always cut things off later ... but if a branch ends up.. needle-less.... if it had buds that would open next spring.. you cant glue them back on ...

cant you find something else to fixate on.. in the garden.. lol ..

ken

ps: should it have fully budded out by now???

Thanks, I will leave alone. Budded out? Not sure.