Neighbor's Blue Spruce Tree - Ask Extension
A neighbor asked me to look at his blue spruce tree because some of the needles are turning brown. I've never had a blue spruce so I don't know if thi...
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Neighbor's Blue Spruce Tree #816136
Asked November 08, 2022, 1:41 PM EST
A neighbor asked me to look at his blue spruce tree because some of the needles are turning brown. I've never had a blue spruce so I don't know if this is normal autumn behavior or if this is a disease. I looked for images of blue spruce with brown needles and some were identified as "needle cast disease". Could this be the case here? Or a different disease? Or normal for this time of year?
Frederick County Maryland
Expert Response
We agree this looks like needle cast disease. It is unfortunately quite common in our region, and is likely exacerbated by the fact that Colorado spruces (all spruces, really) are not well-suited to our growing conditions in the mid-Atlantic unless someone is in the highest elevations on our western counties. Normal yellowing/browning and shedding of the oldest, interior needles is occurring now on many evergreens, so this could in part be due to that, but it appears too excessive and concentrated around the lowest limbs to be only due that factor.
For needle cast infections, under magnification you'd see two rows of fine black spores emerging from the underside of the needle (rows running along the length of the needle, not across it), though this may be seasonal and might not be evident yet if the fungus is not ready to produce spores.
Miri
For needle cast infections, under magnification you'd see two rows of fine black spores emerging from the underside of the needle (rows running along the length of the needle, not across it), though this may be seasonal and might not be evident yet if the fungus is not ready to produce spores.
Miri
