Norway Spruce Damage

[T-Max]

I planted 25 norway spruce in April of this year. Everything seemed to be doing great until about a week ago. Within just a few days 6 of the trees went from deep green to brown needles laying on the ground. I checked all 6 trees and 5 of them are dead dead. The 6th one passed the fingernail test and just yesterday started showing signs of new life. I am at a loss as to what has happened. I have not sprayed anything around and they are regularly watered. The weather hasn't been terrible this summer either. I received a suggestion to check for girdling and I don't see any signs of it. We had received a good rain so the mulch is right up to the trunk, but that is not the norm. I keep the mulch back several inches all around. The trees are in 2 lines and the ones that are dying are spread throughout. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to their demise. If anyone has any idea I would like to hear it. Every other tree still looks great, but these did too last week. I am a little concerned... :/

 

[DJ's Plot]

My Norway's (just a few by the house) get a blight in the Spring and loose there needles until I started spraying for needle cast. Look it up. I use clorithinal. (sp?) They are now growing like crazy but I am careful and spray thru the Spring.

 

[T-Max]

My Norway's (just a few by the house) get a blight in the Spring and loose there needles until I started spraying for needle cast. Look it up. I use clorithinal. (sp?) They are now growing like crazy but I am careful and spray thru the Spring.

Do you have to spray every spring? Or just once?

 

[Oakseeds]

Spider mites can do that. What percent of the trees died? A systemic spray (termiticide Imidacloprid .05%) in the spring would protect them.

 

[T-Max]

Spider mites can do that. What percent of the trees died? A systemic spray (termiticide Imidacloprid .05%) in the spring would protect them.

5 out of 25. Looks like number 6 may pull through. Would you just spray in the spring, or should I try and get some now since my trees may be showing symptoms. I've been looking this up all day. Seems my symptoms are consistent with either spider mites or rhizosphera needlecast. I know nothing about either. I planted norway spruce because they were prettier than ERC and supposedly low maintenance...

 

[Oakseeds]

Life History
This key pest overwinters as brown eggs tucked in and around bud scales and at the base of needles. These hatch in the spring, usually before new growth starts. A generation from egg to adult may require 15-20 days and generations frequently overlap so that all stages may be found on host plants during late spring and early summer. There are 7-10 generations produced each year.

Damage
This species damages host plants by sucking plant fluid from needles as they feed. Infested trees at first have a speckled, yellowish appearance, and lack rich green color. After prolonged feeding, needles turn rusty colored and may drop prematurely. Mites usually attack older needles located in the lower and inner parts of the plant. Damage may spread as the season progresses. This species also produces silken webs on the needles.

Management
Monitoring : When plant foliage begins to show off-green, or stippled, color and spider mites are suspected, perform a foliage check. Take a piece of white paper, hold it under a branch suspected of having mites, and strike the branch hard against the paper. This should dislodge the mites, and even though they are only 0.5 mm long, you should be able to see the dark, oval spider mites against the white background. Examine three to four places around the plant. If you dislodge ten or more mites at each site, it would be advisable to apply a registered miticide according to label directions.

This species is sometimes referred to as a cool season pest. The best time to treat spruce spider mite infestations is in early to mid-May, and again in early September if needed. Repeated applications are sometimes needed to keep mite populations in check. Apply registered miticides only to plants specified on the label. Remember, mites may develop resistance to certain chemicals used against them, so it is necessary to switch to another class of miticide after every third application. Also, mite populations may increase following the use of certain insecticides. Therefore, it is a good idea to add a miticide when spraying mite-susceptible plants with insecticides.

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Good Luck!

 

[farmhunter]

Possible that your wood chips carried the pest? I've planted Norways for years, and I lose some too - but not like that. I was always told to spray the sod or disk it up - then bare root plant with a bar. No mulch, and no need to spray or mow year after year because the norway new growth occurs when the weeds are still small in May - the weeds kind of protect them too - Once the norways are as high as the weeds they really come on after that - but it can take a couple years. That said, I've tried this in heavy grasses and have had trouble with them getting chocked out when young, I know its kind of vague - but some amount of weed growth is good protection. I read once that the most common cause for seedling death is MOWING - and the information I read said don't do it.

 

[dogghr]

Good thots Farmhunter. Interesting I was just tracking down couple white pines I had planted this past spring and failed to keep tract of. I figured with the grass so thick and high they were dead or poor at best. After rooting thru thick grasses that you could hardlly pass your hand thru, I found each, and they looked as healthy as could be. While I maybe should've let the grass get that thick, I think they were protected from heat and animals and insects to some degree. Sure was a pain finding them tho. I 've had poor luck with Norways, unless planted in creek bottoms of all places. I've lost more from various things than I care to say.

 

[T-Max]

These are in my lawn and hopefully will be a road screen some day. I sprayed them yesterday with Malathion 50%. I found a bottle at Menards. I sprayed the trees (both living and dead) and the mulch around everything. We'll see if that helps. farmhunter, you are the second person to tell me that I should let the vegetation around them grow up. I may end up pulling the weed mats and mulch and letting it grow.