Tree Browning - Ask Extension
Hello, we got this tree planted last summer and we aren’t sure what could be causing the browning but would love advice. Too much rain (water)?? Any...
Knowledgebase
Tree Browning #874166
Asked June 22, 2024, 11:22 AM EDT
Hello, we got this tree planted last summer and we aren’t sure what could be causing the browning but would love advice. Too much rain (water)?? Any hope to save it? Thank you!
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
There are several things that could be going wrong. This web site has pictures and descriptions of many of them.
https://apps.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/plant/evergreen/spruce/index.html
However my first thought is was this tree planted correctly? If it was grown in a pot and just dropped into the planting hole without any of the roots being trimmed first. Roots grow till they reach the edge of the pot and then go in a circle. They will continue in this way when planted unless they are trimmed and encouraged to grow out from the tree. See this web page.
https://extension.umn.edu/how/planting-and-transplanting-trees-and-shrubs
Next, are these dwarf spruce? If not, you have too many of them planted too close together and too close to the fence. A full grown spruce may have branches that spread six feet out from the trunk in all directions. Trees planted so closely together that they are "holding hands" so to speak are candidates for needle cast diseases because there is reduced air flow between the trees. Did you do a soil test before planting? Was something planted in this same area that left roots in the ground that may be biodegrading and using the nitrogen in the soil?
https://soiltest.cfans.umn.edu/ This test has a cost, but you can fill out a form saying that it is for a tree location and learn if there is too much or not enough of a needed element in the soil.
Save it? It is unlikely that the green branches on the bottom would form a new terminal leader and grow if the dead trunk area was removed. And based on the location, it is not a good spot for the tree. Key an eye on the other two in case the same symptoms occur.
https://apps.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/plant/evergreen/spruce/index.html
However my first thought is was this tree planted correctly? If it was grown in a pot and just dropped into the planting hole without any of the roots being trimmed first. Roots grow till they reach the edge of the pot and then go in a circle. They will continue in this way when planted unless they are trimmed and encouraged to grow out from the tree. See this web page.
https://extension.umn.edu/how/planting-and-transplanting-trees-and-shrubs
Next, are these dwarf spruce? If not, you have too many of them planted too close together and too close to the fence. A full grown spruce may have branches that spread six feet out from the trunk in all directions. Trees planted so closely together that they are "holding hands" so to speak are candidates for needle cast diseases because there is reduced air flow between the trees. Did you do a soil test before planting? Was something planted in this same area that left roots in the ground that may be biodegrading and using the nitrogen in the soil?
https://soiltest.cfans.umn.edu/ This test has a cost, but you can fill out a form saying that it is for a tree location and learn if there is too much or not enough of a needed element in the soil.
Save it? It is unlikely that the green branches on the bottom would form a new terminal leader and grow if the dead trunk area was removed. And based on the location, it is not a good spot for the tree. Key an eye on the other two in case the same symptoms occur.
