Birds nest Spruce new growth browning

Hey there,

planted a garden and followed the instructions provided to use 50/50 topsoil and mulch, bone marrow and put mulch around the base. Also to water everyday for 2 weeks, now I’ve gone to every second day. Just today a lot of the tips went brown on both plants that were brilliant green with new growth. I realize it doesn’t seem like much from the picture but it’s pretty dramatic in person. Am I drowning it? Is mulch a bad idea? Even though it’s a new plant should I not water as much? Thank you!

 

Hello - do you have the original label(s) from your plant(s)?

Assuming they are from a plant nursery retail outlet

Basically - what are they ? And what’s the source

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Make sure you have not planted above the root / trunk junction it already had in the ground or in the pot you bought it in

Your part of BC must be very bright green right now - and long hours of light - beautiful.

 

Hey @Georgia Strait thanks for the reply! Ya everything has just gone vibrant green in the valley!

The plant was from uplands nursery and is a birds nest spruce. How I understood it was tolerates very cold weather, deer and some drought. Likes to be watered but allowed to dry well with the exception of after planting where root growth depends on good watering.

I’ve checked for mites which are occasionally a concern but there are none.

 

I am no expert on evergreen trees esp in your part of BC -

However maybe it has a case of transplant shock

So I would not over water or feed it — let it settle in.

Do any of your neighbors have same plant?

Have you asked your retail nursery for advice?

I would hesitate before spraying for any bugs

But we do know all the recent forest diseases that have devastated BC ... so it’s important not to be the spreader of same via our own backyards

In the Okanagan - we pay taxes to regional district for fruit tree bug inspection, and one has to be very cautious of backyard hobby fruit trees infesting commercial crop orchards

Tho many orchards are now vineyards for wine - another topic :)

 

postscript

Again - make sure you have not planted it deeper than its natural baseline that it came with in the container pot from nursery

And / Or added mulch around it too high up the small trunk it has now

Also - we do not know when the nursery (or their wholesaler) dug it up to sell to you

Tho one can usually tell from how loose the soil is in the pot (and how many needles and weeds there are - oh and some of the usual moss - none of it necessarily bad just an indicator or how long in pot)

 

I suspect that this could possibly be an infestation of Cooley spruce gall adelgid.

Spruce (Picea)-Cooley spruce gall adelgid

 

@Georgia Strait i don’t see any right here close at my neighbours but they are quite common in the nurseries up here. I’ve also seen a lot of them in lower mainland, bylands nursury I believe. I will try and dial back the water.

@Margot thanks for the reply. That doesn’t sound good. I can’t find much info other than forestry links. I am well north of the Doug Fir cut off but white spruce
are around... I’d expect to see it around though cause spruce are everywhere here. From the pics though looks like a Perfect match. Controls?