Green Spruce Tree Diseases

They first turn yellow then purplish brown and finally fall off.

Green spruce tree diseases.

As the name implies trees with needlecast diseases shed needles. This is an important defoliator of spruce douglas fir true fir and other conifers. Rhizosphaera needle cast is a common disease of spruce trees and affects all ages of needles. There are three principle types of diseases that affect blue spruce trees.

Rhizosphaera needle cast is a common foliar disease of spruces and other conifers caused by the fungus rhizosphaera kalkhoffii. Needle cast diseases of spruce are treatable. Colorado blue spruce is particularly susceptible and can be severly damaged by this disease. Feeding by the larvae can cause complete defoliation of heavily infested trees.

Needle blight and needle cast can be treated with a fungicide approved for fungal diseases on spruce trees. All of these diseases are caused by fungal pathogens and each produce specific symptoms that can be useful in diagnosing the problem. Within a few years after treatment an infested spruce tree can look beautiful again. Left untreated a severe case of needle cast can lead to continual thinning and eventual decline of the affected tree if spring weather is conducive to infection year after year.

Last week we reported that the malady appears to consist of two previously known diseases of spruce that is a branch death and needlecasting see spruce tree problem shows symptoms of both needlecast and branch death.