Hi all, I just moved into a foreclosed home with a lot of overgrown huckleberry trees and other various "junk" (as my dad refers to them) trees. I do have one highlight, a majestic blue spruce that stands more than 30 feet high. The problem is the other trees (specifically the huckleberries) were suffocating it and now it is a little spotty near the bottom but the top 40% appears perfectly healthy. I cut off the dead branches and the offending trees in attempt to promote the tree filling out. Some of the other lower branches have some browning and a few others appear to have some dead spots. I'd love to get the tree to fill out again and am unsure if I should keep pruning. Also, the shady rear that faces the neighbor's property is barren, no growth was even attempted by the tree for a good 10 feet in some areas, the little growth on that side has died. Since I don't see it unless I'm working behind the tree, I don't mind but I'm concerned that it might affect the long term health/balance of the tree. I'm pretty sure I'm just being paranoid though. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks, mark.
If it has bugs or blight those need to controlled to see improvement. This would stop the advance of additional browning out. Stem sections bearing already dead foliage cannot be expected to become re-furnished, the only re-covering that may occur in response to improved light exposure (and pest or disease control) will be the limited amount that is produced by still-healthy branches bending down from above bare portions over the years. Michigan Cooperative Extension may have information about pests and diseases of Colorado spruce in your region.
Thanks, I'm pretty confident that all the damage was done by the other trees stealing the light. These neighboring trees were very large (20+ feet) and growing right into the spruce on three sides, only the front was spared and that was starting to get squashed too. When I get home I'll look for some signs of disease or bugs. Are there any telltale signs?
