Norway Spruce (?) brown branches - fungal infection? - Ask Extension
Observing substantial number of brown branches on Norway Spruce. Is this a fungal infection that needs to or can be treated?
Knowledgebase
Norway Spruce (?) brown branches - fungal infection? #889401
Asked November 05, 2024, 6:16 PM EST
Observing substantial number of brown branches on Norway Spruce. Is this a fungal infection that needs to or can be treated?
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
This looks like normal seasonal leaf drop and not a fungal issue. We see some lichen on the branches, but that is harmless, common to many tree species, and does not need to be addressed or removed (see linked page for more info.).
Evergreens shed their oldest needles every year, sometimes in fall (like with spruce, pine, etc.) and sometimes in spring (azaleas, hollies, etc.). They turn yellow and/or brown and eventually fall off. The oldest needles are those at the base of branches, closest to the trunk or on the thickest branch wood. Stress during the year might exacerbate how many change color and fall. This year's prolonged drought (see linked map) is certainly stressing plants unless they have been irrigated periodically throughout the summer. Even if well-watered by rain or irrigation once the color change begins, nothing will reverse the process and the yellowed or brown needles will still fall off, though this is natural.
While there are fungal "needle cast" diseases that spruces can contract in wetter years, the symptoms differ from what we see in the photos, and Colorado blue spruce tends to be the most common victim. Despite their continued popularity in area landscaping, no spruces are well-adapted to conditions in any area of Maryland outside of their very slim native range in the state (only one species grows wild, barely, in the higher-elevation mountains), and our summer heat and humidity (especially since we don't cool off enough overnight consistently) causes them chronic stress and may increase their vulnerability to other problems. This is not to say that you should get replace the current trees for now, just that it may explain a decline they could experience in the future as they age, especially if we continue to get heat waves (in summer or other seasons) and periods of drought. Some spruce species are more inherently drought-tolerant than others (as it happens, Colorado spruce), but that trait doesn't seem to help them much in our particular conditions.
Miri
Evergreens shed their oldest needles every year, sometimes in fall (like with spruce, pine, etc.) and sometimes in spring (azaleas, hollies, etc.). They turn yellow and/or brown and eventually fall off. The oldest needles are those at the base of branches, closest to the trunk or on the thickest branch wood. Stress during the year might exacerbate how many change color and fall. This year's prolonged drought (see linked map) is certainly stressing plants unless they have been irrigated periodically throughout the summer. Even if well-watered by rain or irrigation once the color change begins, nothing will reverse the process and the yellowed or brown needles will still fall off, though this is natural.
While there are fungal "needle cast" diseases that spruces can contract in wetter years, the symptoms differ from what we see in the photos, and Colorado blue spruce tends to be the most common victim. Despite their continued popularity in area landscaping, no spruces are well-adapted to conditions in any area of Maryland outside of their very slim native range in the state (only one species grows wild, barely, in the higher-elevation mountains), and our summer heat and humidity (especially since we don't cool off enough overnight consistently) causes them chronic stress and may increase their vulnerability to other problems. This is not to say that you should get replace the current trees for now, just that it may explain a decline they could experience in the future as they age, especially if we continue to get heat waves (in summer or other seasons) and periods of drought. Some spruce species are more inherently drought-tolerant than others (as it happens, Colorado spruce), but that trait doesn't seem to help them much in our particular conditions.
Miri