I have a blue spruce that is about 30-35 feet tall. For several years now one side has been dying off. I have tried to trim the dead branches off but the tree is beginning to look bad. The dead branches have a blue coating. I assume this is a fungus. What is this and is there any hope? I really hate to lose it as doves have nested in it for years. Also, just lost a young red maple that looked good for about three years and it appears this fungus may be on it.
You are probably talking about lichen, which is not the cause of the dieback. That will be due to something else. The trees are just being used as a surface to grow on - same as an old wood fence or boulders.
