In early May, we planted 36 Norway spruce trees and 26 white spruce trees around our house. They are mostly about four feet tall. The trees are from a tree farm. They were dug up when I ordered them with 28-inch root balls and planted relatively soon after digging. They grew well in May/June, having several inches of new growth. Then sometime in June, I noticed a few leaders starting to die. The leaders and new growth coming from the leaders died and turned brown. They have some sap dripping down them. Looking more closely, I see many of the dead leaders have one or two tiny holes. See the photos. The leader has this problem, but the rest of the tree looks fine. Eight of the Norways have the dead leader problem. The white spruce are fine. My guess is that this may be a white pine weevil or other similar pest. I haven't seen any pests to identify. We have many white pines on the property. They are okay. The neighbors have a few white pines with dying leaders. Questions: 1) What do you think the problem is? 2) Other than pruning and destroying the dead leaders, what else can I do? 3) I'm willing to try some insecticide to protect our tree investment. What would you recommend? 4) Should I also proactively treat the white spruce and white pines that appear fine?

Hello, Do you have soil tests available for pick-up at your Ball Ave office? Thank you, Nancy H.

We found a dark grey mouse in our house after some electricians spent the day working on a project for us. (They had our crawl space hatch open about 5 hours that day, while they were performing their installations.) We have since contacted a pest control company to seal up the access points and trap any others under the house. I found and killed the mouse that was roaming inside. Now I am left with some mice droppings on our carpet and floors. I understand that you are not to sweep or vacuum mouse droppings to avoid pathogens becoming airborne and potentially spreading disease, so I am at a loss as to how to actually clean up safely and effectively--especially for our brand new carpets. What is the recommended way to remove the droppings & any urine from carpets?

Hi- We live in the southernmost area of the city of Bend, and we have a rather substantial rabbit problem in our lawn. They appear 2 times a day (usually morning & evening), sometimes in small numbers, eating the grass (probably the newest shoots) and leaving their round pellets and urine behind. They have destroyed entire patches of our lawn making it go from green to brown and dry, no matter how much we water. We tried reseeding in early June, but they just came along and ate all small, tender blades that came up. It is now late July and though we did not reseed again they are still coming and eating. What can we do to stop this in a lawn?

Hello, I recently (June) moved into a property in Fort Collins built in 2017, that has extremely thin grass and hard soil. The only real shade the lawn gets is from the house, and it can be quite hot and exposed. My goal this year has been to improve the soil quality. I initially sprayed some root hume and liquid aerator, as well as semi-regular applications of liquid fertilizer (general hydroponics with the sprayer). When is the appropriate time to core aerate, topdress (I will do organic matter to help break the clay some), and overseed? I keep seeing early fall, but I don't know if that means early august, or september, or when. I do have an irrigation system, and the lawn is currently a lighter shade of green. Thank you so much for your help, I took Horticulture 101 at CSU in probably 2013, and I wish I had kept my textbook. What I learned in that class has already been extremely valuable, I just wish I could remember more.

Hi there This beauty sprung up in the yard—having hard time identifying

Please help I'd this bug. I have a lot of these tiny bugs for the first time this year. Inside and out side on an old deck. Size: 1/16 to 1/32 inch. See attached pic. Thx!

MPR has guests talking about Urban forest and tree trust. One tree recommended blue beech as an understory tree. How “messy” and reproductive is it with Catkins and fruit? I am under siege from silver maple helicopters. Thanks Lynn Renee Stillwater

Several nurseries have apricot trees for sales. When is the best time to plant them? Surely not now with our hottest temps ahead of us?

I have very 2 very tall pine trees, 1 very tall blue spruce and 3 cedar trees that are showing brown needles on several branches. I also have a Mugo pine that is also exhibiting browning needles. What is the correct and most efficient way to water these trees during this hot spell? How do I get the roots watered correctly and efficiently? What is the correct method to keep them watered if there is such a dry fall as in 2020? Thank you for your assistance! I was the 4-H Secretary at Weld County Extension in Greeley during the 90s but live in Lakewood now. So honor the resources, advice and efficient work Extension staff provides for Colorado!