Thanks, yup it's an Alberta spruce you are correct. The seller said up to 7 days which we did. I can't remember exactly when we lost the needles, maybe July or August. The summer was dry but I did water it a few times. It started out with a gradual loss and got worse. I have a smaller one, that wasn't kept inside, about 15' away and it's ok. I can't trim the top off can I? I don't think it will grow right doing that. Thanks again.

No, don't trim off the top. I would ask on the conifer forum if this is likely to recover enough to look better.

welcome to the forums ...

in tree time ... its showing prior stresses .... either from in the house.. hardening off.. planting.. improper watering .. or spider mites ..... who knows ... its hard to go back in time and define a precise reason ....

see link below about planting.. watering... etc ... i would suggest you remove the grass for a foot around it.. and add mulch .. if nothing else ... now or spring.. whatever ... btw... its always good to add your location ... but.. doing it now.. if you can find some mulch to put down.. will give you an idea how moist the soil is ...

as to the brown ... are there any viable buds that will pop next spring??? ... i would wait until at least next spring.. before i decide what might bud out ... and then remove anything that is all brown ....

what is your base soil ... i would probably put a hose on drip for a couple hours.. and give it a good deep drink before winter .... long enough that water can get down thru the root mass you planted ... not just some surface watering .... unless you have bad clay ... and i would hope you would have mentioned that.. if you dug the hole to plant it ...

with conifers ... we have to work in tree time... and though you want this perfect.. yesterday .... it isnt going to happen ... but.. within a year or 3.. it will fill in the space.. and you will forget all about it ...

finally.. bugs have a way of finding stressed plants ... just fixing the mites.. if any .... may not solve the problem.. if its a watering problem ....

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

• Ken did a good job explaining that it could be many reasons, and trees may not respond to stress immediately. Read the link carefully. Lots of good information.
• First and foremost, new plantings should be watered regularly rather than a few times. Not from the top, but at the base. And seeing that the bed is not mulched it is possible that the root ball may have dried out. As Ken recommended make the bed wider and mulch.

Ok, got it, thanks. Locaton is Long Island, NY. I've been watering it for long periods at the base weekly now before winter, I know that is important before winter. I'll open up the base and add mulch now. Many thanks, Fred

Definitely could be spider mites. With Dwarf Alberta Spruce watering during warm dry spells isn't enough. You need to also hose them down every 7-10 days to keep the spider mites under control.

tj