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roberts7858

Dying Weeping White Spruce

6 years ago

I live in the Pacific Northwest and I have a white spruce that I planted recently that was very healthy and it's only been about a month and it looks like it's dying I have been watering it about everyday a little bit the first week and then I went to every three or four days and now like once a week this last week or so. at this point it may not have any recovery I don't think or do you think there's something wrong it doesn't seem too wet or too dry.

Comments (10)

  • 6 years ago

    Get a hand magnifier and look for bugs or fungus on the discolored needles

    K R thanked Embothrium
  • 6 years ago

    hmm...there is black specks that come off in your hand all over the needles.

  • 6 years ago

    This looks like rhizosphaera needle cast disease (caused by the fungus it’s named after). It can occur fairly quickly, without any indication the disease is present. Warm, wet weather will further the disease, which will continue until fall, during winter the spores lie dormant and then continue their cycle as the new spring season begins. The fungus can easily infect surrounding coniferous trees, especially during wet weather. I would recommend having it diagnosed, particularly if you got it from a nursery or a farm with other young conifer hosts, as those could also be infected and the sellers/growers should be aware.

  • 6 years ago

    thank you! I did get it from a small nursery, I will let them know today's. meanwhile should I remove it or can it be treated?

  • 6 years ago

    It could also be a very similar looking fungal disease called stigmina needle cast, but you’d need a 10x hand magnifier to truly observe the difference. A local horticulturist in the area would give you an accurate diagnosis and the best treatment options, but that service may come at a cost. In a mature tree, treatment of both needle cast diseases would be worthwhile, but often that involves using a specific pesticide and up to three years of spray-treatment to prevent further infection and spores spreading. Personally, with your spruce being so young (and already looking severely infected), I would remove it to protect the rest of the surrounding area. If you decide to remove it, make sure any needles or branches that fall off are also disposed of as those will also contain spores (either hot composting or burning). Definitely send the photos and mention both needle cast diseases, hopefully the nursery has someone on-site who can confirm or properly diagnosis it.

    K R thanked User
  • 6 years ago

    Here’s a link for needle cast info, looks different to me than what you have going on. Needle Cast article

  • 6 years ago

    Hmmm.... you might be right I did go back to the nursery today and they gave me a $50 credit towards another tree which is really nice of them they said that the tree looks like it maybe has a mites. I pick up some spray just in case that could be it. I just don't know if it's going to recover if that's the case

  • 6 years ago

    The University of Illinois has a fairly detailed brochure on common spruce pest and cultural issues. White Spruce are fairly resilient, but here is the link just in case:
    https://web.extension.illinois.edu/plantclinic/downloads/Plant Clinic Report Spruce.pdf

    At first I thought possible root and butt rot, or even SNEED, and honestly, without a detailed microscopic examination and laboratory testing it’d be difficult to confirm which, if any, needle cast disease could be present. I certainly hope it’s not spruce spider mites either, those are especially irritating to manage. Here is another brochure from the University of Iowa on spruce spider mites:
    https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/2016/06-10/mites.html

    I hope that you’ll be able to revive your White Spruce with the spray-treatment.

  • 6 years ago

    Thank you everyone, you all have been very helpful. I hope I can save this little tree but if not, in the fire it goes and next time I will cover my bases better.