I Think It's Dead...

We had our landscaping put in professionally, and we've been happy with it. Some Norwegian Spruce trees were planted near the road, and we opted to go with larger trees in hopes of them filling in the area quicker. They looked great the first year (when they were under warranty) but slowly during the second year they started to look sickly.  Needles were falling off one tree and the others looked a bit yellow.

We had the landscaper come out to look them over and he wasn't really sure what was wrong with them. Could be insects, not enough water, too much water.  The trees are planted in the only area of clay soil on our property and they get water from our lawn system... so what do we do?

Fertilize them and give them more water was the advice.  Apparently larger trees can actually shed water from their branches and the roots don't get the water they need. So we got the fertilizer and started a hose on them.

Overnight the tree that looked the best turned brown!  The others are looking better - they have new growth, but they still have a long way to go to look as good as they did when they were originally planted.  As for the tree in the very front... well, it looks to us as if it's dying, and yet it still has small areas of green.  We're giving it until fall and will then decide to try to continue to nurse it or replace it.

One thing is for sure... if we have to replace it, we're going with a smaller tree! One that will be less expensive and won't shed water for the the first few years as it gets established.  Learned a lesson on buying big trees... don't!

Norwegian Spruce trees first planted

Same trees two years later