Last year bag worms attacked my 9ft blue spruce. I caught them a little late and the top 2 feet of the tree is burnt out with needles missing. I don't think it's coming back. How would I trim that off without hurting the tree??? And will it's conical shape ever return?
can you tell me what they look like i also have same tree 25 ft the top of the tree is a reddish purple almost looks like it has some kind of flowers
bagworms look like little greyish cacoons attached to branches. Lots of them. The worms can destroy the tree.
thanks another thing that you may want to do is call Purdue in Lafayette my daughter got the phone number off the internet and we sent them pictures of the top of the tree they are supposed to call us back tomorrow. At first they told her that they thought it might be bagworms and I don't think that is what it is so we sent them pictures, they seem to be helpful you may give them a try. thanks Vicki
Reddish purple sounds like it might be cones (i.e., a conifer's 'flowers') - compare this pic: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Picea_pungens1.jpg
why is this the first year that they are that color? does age of the tree have something to do with this we planted the tree 25 years ago at which it was about a ft tall is it ok or is it lacking something. My mother had always had this type and they never did this?
They'll get yellower, less purple as they mature, finally pendulous and yellow-buff by autumn when they open to drop their seeds. At 25 years, I'd suspect this is the first decent crop this tree has had - in the past 5 or 10 years it might have had an odd cone or two, easily missed if you're not searching over the tree. Before that, too young to have cones. From now on, it'll have large crops every few years, with small crops a bit more frequently.
thanks you are just a wealth on information I'm lucky I know the name for the tree. thanks again, vicki
