How much have you been watering & how ?

these probably will be dead soon

ron

I haven't been watering them that much since start of spring but we've been getting heavy rain.

never use tree spikes again .. waste of money and effort ...

where did you put them .. very close to the plant ...

imo ... trees .. of which conifers are.. never need fert ...

i suspect they were damged before you got them.. rather minor ... and some of what you are seeing.. was caused by winter finishing that job ...

how did you plant them.. and how did you care for them during the heat of summer .. into fall ... drip irrigation require long periods of watering.. to get the water deep down to where the roots are ... and then allowing them to near dry before deep watering again ... if you did just a short period of watering.. they may not have been watered properly ...

none of the brown is going to revive.. its dead .. start trimming it out back to live growth.. and then decide if you can live with them ... and if they are only going to aggravate you every time you look at them .. get rid of them ... but you ight give them until fall before you make that decision ...

hopefully you will be surprised how god they look ... after you remove the brown ...

ken

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

I've got signs of life