Help on my baby tree - Ask Extension
Hi! I have a baby Christmas tree that I got from a Christmas tree farm in Wisconsin in 2023. I’m not sure what type of Christmas tree it is. It seem...
Knowledgebase
Help on my baby tree #895005
Asked March 20, 2025, 6:25 PM EDT
Hi! I have a baby Christmas tree that I got from a Christmas tree farm in Wisconsin in 2023. I’m not sure what type of Christmas tree it is. It seemed to do just fine the winter going into 2024 and the first picture is May ‘24 when I was noticing new growth! However since the fall it’s taken a turn… about half the tree looks dead now. The second two pictures are what it looks like now. The dead side is the west side. I thought I was watering it regularly last summer but maybe not?? I had it covered with burlap most of the winter to protect it from cold winds but recently took the burlap off - second picture is what it looks like now. Help! Is there anything I can do to make it look better? Water? Fertilizer in spring? Or just hold out hope that it will get better?
Ramsey County Minnesota
Expert Response
Thank you for writing. Christmas trees are not good landscape plants. They are often dried out by the long time between digging out and planting. They are too fertilized to make an immediate needle growth in excess of what the roots can support. The roots are often cut for shipping. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the-do-s-and-don-ts-of-christmas-tree-planting
The real problem is that this appears to be a spruce. There are two diseases that are killing many spruce in Minnesota. https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/rhizosphaera-needle-cast
I suggest that you start over with a pine or yew.
The real problem is that this appears to be a spruce. There are two diseases that are killing many spruce in Minnesota. https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/rhizosphaera-needle-cast
I suggest that you start over with a pine or yew.
Another thought of an evergreen would be cedar or juniper.
