Blue Spruce Dying

[semperfi211]

We have five spruce trees and one of them started dying last year. I don't see any insects. I have tried fertilizer stakes and miracle grow. Nothing seems to help.About a month ago I cut down a small maple that you see the stump for. I don't know if the roots could have been competing? I am wondering if I should cut off the top, that is where it started dying and is the worst part. I was wondering if anyone has had this happen, any ideas?

 

[mkgr22]

What kind of tree is that behind it? That might well be the culprit!

Cutting off the top will not allow the tree to grow again.

 

[CindyE]

Odd. The one next to it looks really healthy. Ours looked almost as bad as that once, when it had lots of bag worms. I didn't think it was going to recover, but it did.

 

[1911ly]

I'd just drop it. Something has probably destroyed the bark at the bottom of where it is dead. If it is a bug you want to get it down before it gets to your other tree. You can get a closer look at it when you get it down.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I'd also take it down and replace it. Spruce aren't that expensive and they grow fairly fast.

Like LY says, If that one does have an insect problem, maybe borers under the bark or something, or even some kind of disease, it could spread to the others.

 

[Leadeye]

Looks like bag worm damage from the picture.

 

[Informed Decision]

Had the same thing happen to my Blue Spruce a few years ago. I had an arborist look at it & he said it had an insect eating out the heart of the tree. I don't recall the name of the insect though. He said there is a special stake that would kill the insects but I had waited too long to save the tree. He said when it comes down you'll find little pin holes running up through it. Sure enough it did. In your situation there, I'd get an arborist to confirm & then locate those stakes to kill the buggers before they can spread to the other trees you have there. Then drop that one.

 

[Hammer]

Do the new dead needles have a red tint to them?

Hold a sheet of white paper under those limbs and tap the limb, flip the paper over and rapidly back. Look on the paper for little small bugs More than likely is is spruce spider mite.
Spruce Spider Mite ? Department of Entomology ? Penn State University

 

[sugarcreekbrass]

You can also check with your county extension office. We had 3 trees we didn't know what they were when me moved into this house 3 yrs ago. They are neat looking trees but weren't in good condition. One was dead and fell over this winter. One of them is about half dead. A neighbor of ours is big into trees and was looking into it for us and came back the next day with a stack of papers from our extension office. They said they were emerald ash trees that have and ash borers. They gave us a list of things to do to save the one tree.

 

[yepthatsme]

Had the same thing happen to my Blue Spruce a few years ago. I had an arborist look at it & he said it had an insect eating out the heart of the tree. I don't recall the name of the insect though. He said there is a special stake that would kill the insects but I had waited too long to save the tree. He said when it comes down you'll find little pin holes running up through it. Sure enough it did. In your situation there, I'd get an arborist to confirm & then locate those stakes to kill the buggers before they can spread to the other trees you have there. Then drop that one.

^^^^ This ^^^^ There are borers that attack spruces and pines. If you look closely at the trunk of the tree, you will see white streaks on the trunk below small holes. This is the result of borers and they can kill the tree if not treated.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

You can also check with your county extension office. We had 3 trees we didn't know what they were when me moved into this house 3 yrs ago. They are neat looking trees but weren't in good condition. One was dead and fell over this winter. One of them is about half dead. A neighbor of ours is big into trees and was looking into it for us and came back the next day with a stack of papers from our extension office. They said they were emerald ash trees that have and ash borers. They gave us a list of things to do to save the one tree.

I made the decision not to treat my trees, after talking to the Purdue entomologist that headed up the state's response. He said that he didn't think any of the treatments would save a tree once the infestation hits the peak of borer numbers.

But, you never know. I have three big ash trees that shade my house with two more out in the yard. Most are dead or dying, and I especially hate to lose one big one in the front of the house, but several years ago I bought a wood stove, so, ya know it kind of takes the sting out of losing them. I'm not just losing a tree, I'm gaining some easy fire wood that I don't have to haul.

 

[BugI02]

Thought it was curious it seemed to be dying top down. Came across this poking around on internet

There are way more insect pests than I thought there were for this type of tree

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/assistance/backyard/treecare/forest_health/whitesprucediagnosis.pdf

 

[semperfi211]

Thanks for the help everyone. The large tree behind it is a maple. I shook a couple branches over white paper and didn't see evidence of insects. There is a white sap oozing from the trunk. I will check with county extension office this week.

 

[GLOCKMAN23C]

I had some mite get into my pine tree and several of my neighbors'. It has dessimated all of them. They'll also get into evergreen bushes. You may trim a piece and send it to Purdue.