when was the brick wall installed ... is it south facing.. can we see a pic of the whole ...

how many more are affected ...

where is it?

is there a dog involved ... does the brown stuff smell like urine?

are there any live buds at the tips of the brown part ...

i dont see anything in the all green pix ...

ken

Hello Ken,

The dwarf conifers are west facing and they are about 4 feet above ground (sitting on a retaining wall) so no dogs can pee on them. They don't have dogs themselves. I believe they have had the tress for the about 10 years and they have stayed evergreen until now. So far it looks like about 3 are affected and the green one I posted actually has the shadows of the brown discoloration starting...not showing clearly in the picture:).

I will check today if there are any live buds at the tips but i don't think so. I will be sure to add more pics as well. Thank you for your thoughts ken. I will look forward to any advice you might have.

Can you post a photo of the entire plant? Is this plant a dwarf alberta spruce? if it is check out the link

google dwarf alberta spruce problems

Thank you for your response Mike. Yes, it looks very much like the dwarf alberta spruce. Having read an article on them, I remembered seeing lots of cobwebs on them throughout the summer. Does that mean they are possibly being attacked by spider mites?

There is no new growth on the brown patches. It looks like a blow torch has been used to burn the areas and it definitely looks like it's spreading. I'm having trouble loading more pictures on the site for some reason. I will try again later.

Thanks again!

spider mites was my first thought

hard blast of water helps keep them at bay

also , make sure they are watered,,,don't like to dry out

ron

i still find the coincidence of the worst part on the wall weird ...

have they ever been cleaned out??? ... large accumulations of dead material inside the plant can lead to some problems ...

the usual place to find spider mites.. in my experience.. is the top.. the leader ...

no evergreen of any kind.. holds its leaves forever ... and they shed them ... and that is why interiors are usually bald ... thats where the oldest needles were ... but sometimes .. usually based on weather.. like sever drought ... can make it show on the exterior ....

the amount of such.. ebbs and flows over the years .... and its all normal ...

i would just cut the low brown parts out .. outta sight.. outta mind ...

spider mites are not spiders.. they are mites ... they do not make what you would commonly think of as spider webs ... and fall is a big time to see spider webs on dewy mornings ... its a nice show ... and of no impact on the plants ...

its always helpful to know where the plant is.. and what
the weather has been in say.. the last 6 months.. and maybe even last
winter ...

im curious what an 89 year old freaking out looks like ... lol ...

and.. finally ... they are Picea glauca 'Conica' .. commonly known as dwarf alberta spruce [DAS] ... i have found.. in the world of conifers.. using the proper latin name.. usually results in better search results... but DAS is so ubiquitous.. it probably doenst matter in this case ..

ken

Thank you embothrium, ken & plantkiller for your insightful thoughts. I have been trying repeatedly to post pics but they are not loading:(!

I can at least mention that the browning is starting in the middle of the confers and not just at the bottom. You can see whispers of the browning starting in random spots on a number of them now.

For now I am going to blast them with water everyday to see if that stops the spread of the mites.

Ken: We had a mild winter, cold spring, really wet early summer and now dry & sometimes hot late summer/early fall.

Lastly, concerning my neighbor freaking out:),...she asked me the other day to investigate what is going on because she said, repeatedly, she "would be heart-broken if they died because she loves them so much." :)!

Thank you again everyone for chiming in. You have given me something to work with and hopefully save the conifers!

Snow melt salt use damage?

the interior browning is coincidental to the bottom browning, and is natural...ken will likely be more than willing to link to his expose on the subject.

the problem on the bottom is likely spider mite. This can be quickly verified with a simple sheet of white paper. when the problem is occurring, shake onto a sheet of paper. if you see small dots moving around the sheet of paper, it's spider mite. Water is your best solution. Adequate water for the plants, and the occasional sharp spray of water through the canopy of the plant. Think, hose end sprayer on the strongest jet setting.

ken, here's your answer for the occurrence of this problem near the stone: It's about the proper environment for the pest. Spider mites like the heat and the dry, the stone helps in that it absorbs heat from the sun and then radiates it into the plant.

Thank you, waynedanielson, for your confirmation and clarification about how spider mites work. It is really helpful. This weekend we started spraying them with water and will continue to do it every other day. It has been hot and dry the past few weeks, making for the perfect conditions for them to thrive.

Thanks again!

Stanton, thank you for another possibility of what could be causing the browning. I doubt, though, that the salt could reach the conifers that are about 4 feet above the ground. Thank you though:)!

Don't know the layout, but salt on a walkway then snow, then snow shoveling, blowing, removal in general spreads the salt surprising distances.

you're a card Wayne... lol .. ken

Everyone, I just wanted to give you an update on the dwarf alberta spruce you had given me advice about. We blasted them with water and kept them well watered all summer. Here they are this spring!

They look happy and green again! The brown patches are almost all gone. We will continue to water them this season. Thank you so much for having responded to my question. I wanted to share with you the fruits of sharing your gardening knowledge! It was so helpful.

Thank you again:)!

Thanks for the update.

tj

you are welcome ... and what junkie said .... ken

Nice. I want to grow a 10+ footer that is healthy and has no noticeable flaws. This one probably has the best chance as it is in full sun. Thats a Korean lilac behind it.

I'm so glad they recovered

ron

What a beautiful combination pete_powell! So am I plantkiller_il_5:)!