What’s wrong with my tree?
My tree suddenly has lots of bronzy brown needles. Is it okay? If not, is there a way to treat it? In the photo with two trees, it’s the one on the left. The other tree seems just fine.
Hennepin County Minnesota
3 Responses
There are two common needle cast diseases of spruce. Sending a sample to the plant disease clinic can provide a definitive answer. https://pdc.umn.edu/ Check out the fact sheets for a description and what to do about it. https://www.myminnesotawoods.umn.edu/2019/05/keep-an-eye-on-your-spruces-during-our-rainy-spring/ https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/treecare/forest_health/fid/spring-2018-articles.html https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/lawns-gardens-trees/the-old-and-the-new-two-needle-diseases-of-spruce-in-north-dakota
Thanks! Could you share some more detail? What are the two common needle cast diseases of spruce? The link you provided listed many different tests, which test would you recommend for this? Thank you!
The two most common diseases are rhizophaera and cytospora.
https://www.ci.ramsey.mn.us/267/Common-Problems-With-Spruce-Trees
I would send a sample to the plant disease clinic. They know what the most common diseases are this year and will do appropriate tests.
https://pdc.umn.edu/