Browning Alberta Spruce

[snachs]

The two small trees were planted 3 years ago. When all the heavy snow melted in spring 2010, I noticed the trees took a beating. They lost some form and showed browning. When the spring flush came, the one on the left rebounded fully and the one on the right got better but still was less dense and showed some browning.

Another harsh winter and it's even worse now. The left one rebounded again with new growth. There is new growth on the right one but it is looking pretty sad. Some googling leads me to spider mites and shade. They both get about the same sun but I do notice the back side is the worst where it gets the least sun. I have no idea if there are spider mite issues.

Any actions I can take? Is the tree a goner? Some posts on GW say that others had these issue 1-3 years running and went away.

both

left-healthy

right-brown

[MorpheusPA]

Some browning after the winter we had is pretty normal--my Thuja got a few brown bits, so did my soft-touch holly.

That tree doesn't look that bad, so if you don't see evidence of spider mites (you can usually see the webbing), I'd ignore it for now. If you do see evidence of mites, or just want to be sure, 1 tsp shampoo or other soap (not anti-bacterial) in water will kill them. So will any decent insecticide on the market.

Shade isn't something you can do much about, but how shady is that? How many hours of sun?

To encourage recovery, keep damp (never wet or dry as either will kill a spruce, although wet will kill 'em a lot faster). Feed organically at any rate, or lightly with synthetics in spring (now) and fall.

[snachs]

I snapped from the good side to show the new growth over the brown. The side facing the house is pretty pitiful. Mostly, it just doesn't match the other one well at all.

Pic is from 20 mis ago and the sun is just getting there. Will have sun till 6. More reading on GW tells me being near other plants might be an issue too. I also read that a good strong watering (like a jet) is recommended to rinse of mites.

I'll give that and the soap a try. Thanks morph

[MorpheusPA]

The side facing the house sounds like a shade issue, and there's not much you can do about that. However, the other side is getting ample sun (five hours is enough).

Feeding well should even out the growth a bit; the whole plant doesn't need consistent sun (although it helps).