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Dwarf Alberta Spruce dying #774041
Asked October 03, 2021, 4:46 PM EDT
Franklin County Ohio
Expert Response
Yikes!!! It looks sick!!! I found this article on spruce diseases that might help, but I think I would get a soil sample and send it for analysis.
I know you mentioned that you have been treating for mites, and after reading the article below and looking at the location of the two different spruces, the sick one on the left may have lot less air flow because of the location of it and the proximity to the tree. The other more healthy spruce looks like it gets more sun as well. The article below discusses environmental conditions :
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/picea-glauca-conica/
To check for spider mites, take a sheet of white paper and place it under a damaged portion of your shrub and shake the branch onto the paper. If you see black specs on the sheet of paper, your spruce has mites.
Good luck!
Leslie
Is it possible that the soil is too wet? Japanese Maples frequently suffer from Verticillium wilt/root rot if the doesn't drain properly. This causes the leaves to brown/yellow and curl and entire branches will die. We've seen this a lot in the past couple of years due to very wet weather. Unfortunately, if that's the case it can be hard to cure and is easier to prevent. This could also be caused by fluctuating weather. Here's a great article explaining some of the potential causes and cures: https://georgeweigel.net/georges-current-ramblings-and-readlings/why-so-many-japanese-maples-are-dying
I would sending in a sample of the plant to test for any pathogens.
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 20, 2022, at 4:00 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
One other comment though; from your picture it looks like the top part of the tree has the most leaf loss which makes me wonder if the surprise cold we had in the spring caused the damage. If the freeze was the culprit, the leaves would not have come out on the damaged branches. I covered mine when I heard the temperature drop and potential freeze warning and mine did fine. My neighbors did not cover their tree and it looks a lot like your tree. If the leaves did not come out this summer, I would wait until spring and clip off the dead branches. It is too late in the year to do that now, so wait!!!!
Good luck and if you hear of frost or freeze warnings in early spring, cover it until the sun rises!!!
Leslie
EMG
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 21, 2022, at 7:06 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote: