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My wooded property is a mix of White and Red pine, mixed hardwoods and Norway Spruce. Many spruce trees are losing their needles. What can be done to ...
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My wooded property is a m... #379751
Asked December 14, 2016, 9:33 AM EST
My wooded property is a mix of White and Red pine, mixed hardwoods and Norway Spruce. Many spruce trees are losing their needles. What can be done to stop this?
I see this condition all over Richland and surrounding counties.
Richland County Ohio
Expert Response
Thanks for using Ask a Master Gardener with your spruce question.
Your question has no easy answer. I also have noticed an increase of spruce issues in the western part of the state. There may be a number of things that could be causing this to happen.
You did not indicate in your question which part of the spruce tree is losing needles. All plants that we call evergreens do not hold their leaves (needles) indefinitely.
At some point the older, inside needles turn brown and are shed from the tree. Pines and Spruce both do this, with the White Pines showing the most noticeable shed. They hold the needles no longer than the third season and turn yellow and drop in dramatic fashion. Likewise, the Red Pines will drop inside needles in the fourth year. Needles on Spruce hold for a much longer time and are not as showy when they drop.
If your trees are exhibiting needle drop at the tips of the branches, then you do have a problem. There are several fungal organisms that could cause this and bagworms can kill a tree if heavily infested. Below is a fact sheet that I found from the University of Illinois that addresses many of the Spruce issues. Some are an easy diagnosis and some may require you to send a sample for diagnosis. Here is the fact sheet:
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/plantclinic/downloads/Plant%20Clinic%20Report%20Spruce.pdf
If you need to send a sample for diagnostic work, the information for the C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic is found at the website below. Make sure to take a good sample as dead twigs cannot be diagnosed as anything but dead. The place where the good needles meet the bad areas are ideal. There is a cost for this process.
http://ppdc.osu.edu/submit-sample
Please be encouraged as the issues that affect the Spruce may not bother the Pines. In a mixed, wooded property, shade can also cause the loss of lower branches and the needles.
Hope this helps you with figuring out what is the because of the needle drop.
Your question has no easy answer. I also have noticed an increase of spruce issues in the western part of the state. There may be a number of things that could be causing this to happen.
You did not indicate in your question which part of the spruce tree is losing needles. All plants that we call evergreens do not hold their leaves (needles) indefinitely.
At some point the older, inside needles turn brown and are shed from the tree. Pines and Spruce both do this, with the White Pines showing the most noticeable shed. They hold the needles no longer than the third season and turn yellow and drop in dramatic fashion. Likewise, the Red Pines will drop inside needles in the fourth year. Needles on Spruce hold for a much longer time and are not as showy when they drop.
If your trees are exhibiting needle drop at the tips of the branches, then you do have a problem. There are several fungal organisms that could cause this and bagworms can kill a tree if heavily infested. Below is a fact sheet that I found from the University of Illinois that addresses many of the Spruce issues. Some are an easy diagnosis and some may require you to send a sample for diagnosis. Here is the fact sheet:
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/plantclinic/downloads/Plant%20Clinic%20Report%20Spruce.pdf
If you need to send a sample for diagnostic work, the information for the C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic is found at the website below. Make sure to take a good sample as dead twigs cannot be diagnosed as anything but dead. The place where the good needles meet the bad areas are ideal. There is a cost for this process.
http://ppdc.osu.edu/submit-sample
Please be encouraged as the issues that affect the Spruce may not bother the Pines. In a mixed, wooded property, shade can also cause the loss of lower branches and the needles.
Hope this helps you with figuring out what is the because of the needle drop.
