hi

looks pretty healthy to me..

life is in the buds ... and most everything looks pretty good on that plant..

interior browning is normal ... though this is a bit outwards ...

looks like some kind of damage.. which could be associated with planting.. shipping.. winter.. etc .... but before we got to that.. we would have to have some more facts..

how long planted... some relation to transplant shock???

where are you.. besides simply z5 ...

is there any large dog that could have been marking it????

personally .. i dont like to jump to conclusions of disease ... like 'needle cast' ... before i have ruled out just about everything else ... besides.. it looks to limited to a specific boot sized area, rather than a generalized disease ...

was there snow cover this year.. how high in relation to the damage ...

which side of the plant .. prevailing winds.. winter sun ...

more facts please

ken

Hi Ken~
Central Illinois. This tree is located on the west side of my backyard, open exposure to the winds & sun. Large dog...YES. That is the ONLY area that I saw on the tree. Now that you made the comparison to needle cast description, I'm prone to rule that disease out. On the far east of my house, I have three spruce trees in a planting that seems to have the NC, which I discovered late last summer.
Yes, there was snow cover this year. The spurce has been planted 3 yrs?
Thanks for your reply!

"light" winter burn... could be possible last year there was spider mite activity. As soon as the summer becomes "hot" get a white piece of paper and place it under the foliage on several locations and tap the foliage... if you see little dots moving on the paper, you have spider mites. Blast them off with a hose. Once their blasted off, they cannot crawl back into your conifers and will perish trying to do so. If it's a real bad infestation, spray with a chemical or an organic insecticide.

It really looks like slight winter burn, and that's all.

Dax

what is your view on Needle Cast...with the proper chemical treatment, is it possible to stop the fungus and save the tree? Or do they end up dying regardless??

Thanks