Knowledgebase

Norway Spruce: majority of needles turning brown, falling off #747932

Asked May 04, 2021, 12:52 PM EDT

I purchased 8 Norway Spruce six years ago. They have been “sickly” for four years,  majority of needles turn brown and fall off.

Please help me pinpoint what I am doing wrong.  I am an experienced gardener and this is perplexing me.

Below are the details and photo.

Soil: Highlands ranch, all soil was well amended upon planting, large holes were dug, all per instructions.

Watering: summer- two high-volume fan-style drippers on each plant, water overnight 3 days a week with three 9-minute watering cycles, one hour apart (total 27 minutes of water 3 days/week).  winter- hand water on weekends when ground is dry

Fertilizing: light application of Miracle Grow each spring

Sun: full sun, It gets really hot in my back yard during summer.

Ground cover around the plants (outside of the watering circle) is rock (per photos)… Could the hot rocks be burning the roots?

Key observation: the browning of the needles is occurring on the side of the plant facing the sun.  The shaded side of the plant looks almost normal.  Could it be that the environment is too hot for these trees?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Douglas County Colorado

Expert Response

Thank you for contacting the Master Gardener Help Desk and thanks for the very complete description.

I have some questions that may help us in the diagnosis.

1. Were the 3 trees in the photo planted at the same time (6 yrs ago)? Just curious if the one in the center is a replacement as it looks reasonably healthy.

2. Did the tree on the far left, once look like the tree on the far right, before it lost most of it's needles?  I am trying to understand the progression. Can you confirm that the process of loosing needles is relatively slow (4 yrs), not a fast reaction?

3. What direction do these 3 trees face?

4. Do you know how much water the fan-style drippers put out in an hour? Sometimes that number is written on the dripper or they are color coded. Have you watered at this same volume for the life of the trees? 

6.  Are the other 5 trees planted in similar environments and do they have similar issues?

Kind Regards, Replied May 05, 2021, 6:31 PM EDT
Dear master gardener,
Answers to your questions:
1. Yes, all were planted at the same  time, no replacements.
2. Yes, the far-left one did look like the far right one about one or two years ago.
3.  I am facing west upon taking the photo of the 3 trees.
4. The drippers are adjustable (0 to 14 Gallons per hour).  I'm guessing they are at 33% capacity.
    When the trees were new, they had lower-volume drippers
    Last summer I checked the soil around the drip line every Saturday, and if dry, I gave all of them an extra 2 gallons of water.
5.  The other 5 trees have similar issues (photos attached)  I took the new attached photos facing West.  
    You can see that the south-facing side of the trees are brown, and the north-facing side look almost normal.
    The needle close-up photo shows that many of the needles are exactly 50% green at the base of the stem, and 50% brown at the tip.
Isn't this strange?  Is the summer heat causing all of this? are the rocks heating up the ground/roots too much?  
Your thoughts?  Most appreciative of your advice!  Tina

On Wednesday, May 5, 2021, 04:31:55 PM MDT, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:


The Question Asker Replied May 06, 2021, 10:44 PM EDT
Hi Tina,
Thank you for all of the details.  It sounds like you have done everything right so we're trying to drill down to diagnose what might be going on.  Colorado seasons have been very unkind to many of our trees and perennials over the last few years with late and early freezes and many trees and plants have suffered and become more susceptible to problems.  We are thinking that to take this a step further, we would like to see a sample of one of the tree branches.  We would like a small sample of a healthy limb and a small sample of a limb with the needles that are both brown and green. If we have that, we can take a look under the microscope to identify possible pests or diseases. Would it be possible for you to bring a sample to our offices at the Douglas County Fairgrounds (Off of I-25 and Plumb Creek).  We are open from 8-5, Monday through Friday, but closed from 12:30-1:30 each day.

Also, could you please look very closely at the trunk?  Do you see anything that looks like sawdust or is the bark compromised in any way?  Did the dieback start in the lower or upper branches?  Is there any white resin or sap on the trunk or branches?

If we cannot determine anything from these latest requests, we can check to see when and if we will be resuming home visits.

Thanks so much.  We hope we can get to the bottom of this.



Colorado Master Gardeners of Douglas County

2021 Virtual Helpdesk
Questions answered daily by email!


On Thu, May 6, 2021 at 8:44 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Kind Regards, Replied May 10, 2021, 1:02 PM EDT
Yes I can bring samples to your Castle Rock office, Tues May 18.  I will address your remaining questions as well.

How many inches long should each sample be?

Thanks!  Tina

On Monday, May 10, 2021, 11:02:49 AM MDT, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:


The Question Asker Replied May 12, 2021, 10:07 PM EDT
Hi Tina,
Yes, someone will be here from 9-12am or 1:30 to 4:30pm. The office is closed every day from 12:30- 1:30.
Your sample doesn't really have to be that large but maybe bring in a little sample from a couple different areas. 
Also if one area has more damage than another bring that. Leave some of the good part of the spruce branch also if possible.
Thank you.
Colorado Master Gardeners of Douglas County

2021 Virtual Helpdesk
Questions answered daily by email!


On Wed, May 12, 2021 at 8:07 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Kind Regards, Replied May 13, 2021, 12:35 PM EDT
Bingo!      Regarding:  "Is there any white resin or sap on the trunk or branches?"
YES!  All 8 trees have white to pale-yellow sap on their trunk and branches, some worse than others.

Is there a remedy?  Or are they too-far-gone to try to save them?  
Can the fungus spread to my 7 juniper trees that are close by?


On Monday, May 10, 2021, 11:02:49 AM MDT, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:


The Question Asker Replied May 14, 2021, 4:20 PM EDT

Hi Tina,

Looks like you have gotten input from several of our Master Gardeners. It is possible that the tree is suffering from sun and water issues, but may indeed have a biotic problem. Because you have several trees at stake I would suggest that you do try to bring in samples to the Extension office, was well as any additional photos. The staff should be able to further investigate. 

I am attaching a link to an article on some of the diseases that affect the Norway Spruce. 

Spruce Problems.pdf (missouribotanicalgarden.org)

Kind Regards, Replied May 14, 2021, 11:00 PM EDT

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