What is hurting my new blue spruce?

Question

I have a new blue spruce, planted in late April, which stands about 6 ft. tall. I just bought it with a one year warranty for about $200 at a nursery in central Indiana. At first, the tree was doing great, with new growth popping out quickly. After about the end of May or early June, the inner, or old growth needles have been browning and falling off. But the new growth looks great, hardy, and is doing well. The tree is all but bald except for the new growth now. What happened? There is no purplish mold on the stems and no sacks on the limbs. I put a under mulchbed watering system in and have watered it frequently. What causes old growth to fall off but new growth to flurish so well? Do I need to take my nursery up on their warranty? If you know what it is, can it be fixed? I have a few pics of it if you would like me to email them.

Thanks

Answer 1

leave it alone,,,but give it water and some fertilize. it will come back on its own.

Answer 2

The wild animals

Answer 3

I would say as long as there is new growth, your tree might just be going through a "shock" stage. I planted 9 of them as a windbreak last year, but they were only about 2 feet tall when I got them. Yours is probably much older, therefore it's probably having a little more trouble adapting to it's new living conditions, soil type, and possibly even climate elements. Nurseries grow their stock all over the country, and then pot them up, and ship them out to stores to buy. I have noticed with mine that now since they've been planted here for a year, the ones which remain the "wettest" aren't growing as tall as the others....but they have a better blue color, and are fuller/fatter. They say not to fertilize within the 1st year, but I did pound in a tree spike next to each one late last fall because I feared Iowa's harsh winters, and I gave them each a new spike this spring on the other side of the trunk. And they are each covered with about 4 inches of mulch. The first season I hand watered them every other day with each tree getting a 3 gallon bucket. I'm not sure if I'm doing things "by the book", but mine seem to be doing just fine. Good Luck.