I purchased a colorado spruce-3 ft tall wrapped in a sack and standing in sawdust at a tree farm. It was my christmas tree for 10 days (indoors). It sat in my unheated garage 2 weeks before christmas and again after until approx. Mar. 1. The problem I see is that the needles are turning yellow from about the centre middle and down. I had watered it carefully but noticed it wasn't soaking up the water. I then rested the container on stones. My question is.....does it pay for me to plant it in the ground in this condition? I plan to plant it on the north side of my house about 5 ft. from the building. Will watch for a reply. Ginger.
Hi Ginger Sawdust is a nasty medium in the sense that once it dries out it takes alot of watering for it to recover. Also there are no nutreints in that alone are beneficial to the tree with out proper soil. I would say that the sooner you get it in the ground the better chance it has. Also check with your local garden center and out find what fertilizer they recomend. It will probably need to be fairly high in Nitrogen. Good luck Doug
Large tree, likely to elbow the house only 5' away. Turning of interior needles could be moisture-related (too wet or too dry) but might also be caused by bugs, look closely to see if you have any guests on the yellowing parts. With the weather we have been having (69F today in Seattle) it is warm enough to plant it out. Otherwise, if it has been deconditioned (caused to break into new growth) by being held in a sheltered area it may have to wait a little longer to go out.
Hi Ginger, You've already gotten some good advice about the watering and possible cause of yellow needles, so I won't repeat that. I will repeat what Ron stated. Five feet from a structure is way too close. The Colorado spruce can eventually grow to 20' around. It would need to be AT LEAST 10' from a building, with 15' even better for air circulation. It can also grow to a height of 50'. Here's some helpful info. http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/trees/PICPUNA.pdf Newt
