Deep root fertilization, helpful or scam?

I had my tree service company look at a blue spruce that's pretty green, not as blue as the rest of them in the row. I'm aware it was a mistake to plant the blue spruce in such a wet location. We were thinking it was pest damage but here's what the guy wrote on the service paper.

"Spruce is browning due to cultural isses. Tree is located in a lower area where water tends to sit. This causes stress and could be causing root rot. I would recommend a deep root fertilization to promote as much root growth as possible to take advantage of the wet conditions."
So do you think deep root fertilization could be helpful or is it just a money making scam for these tree service companies?
Thanks
Greg

Sounds like a scam to me - fertilization will only worsen the problem by further stressing the tree. If the roots are drowning in water, fertilizer will not help the situation. Spruces don't like "wet feet", the only way to take care of the problem is to raise the tree further above grade so that excess water drains away from the root system.

I received 4 medium-sized 5' tall spruces as a gift after my house was built a few years ago, I made the mistake of planting them in an area that was inundated with water during the Spring, of course I didn't know this at the time because I hadn't lived on the property in prior years. By the time the warm weather hit, the trees all turned brown and died. A sure sign of trouble is the spruce will fail to push new growth, the buds become brown and crispy and the tree is headed for its grave.

gbig2 said:

"Spruce is browning due to cultural isses. Tree is located in a lower area where water tends to sit. This causes stress and could be causing root rot. I would recommend a deep root fertilization to promote as much root growth as possible to take advantage of the wet conditions."
Greg

Click to expand...

I like the first part... until the recomendation. Its a total crock... Blue spruce will not "take advantage of wet conditions". If root rot exists (which I doubt) it will continue to destroy roots. How will fertilizer change that? The glauca (blue) is a result of proper oxygen levels in the tree. Without proper 02 the tree will continue to decline. Most likely this problem is the wrong tree in the wrong place and fertilizing it would be like taking a shower with a raincoat on.

:agree2: fert will not help in this case. Is the tree small? Move it if possible. Mites may be a problem if the tree is stressed. To test for mites cut a browning branch (twig) tap it over a white piece of paper set the paper on a table or something with good light. look at the tiny spots if some move it probably is mites. A good magnifying lens is nice for this.

The tree is 6 feet tall, planted about 3 years ago. The company sprayed for mites a month or two ago.
Ok, so it sounds like there's not much I can do. If/when it dies I'll replace with something that can handle wet feet. I can't really raise it because there are 12 other blue spruce that are at the same level, it would look strange to raise just the one. Live and learn I guess...

Thanks

http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/planting.aspx

can you see the flare?

baldcypress may look good there.

got pics?

gbig2 said:

I can't really raise it because there are 12 other blue spruce that are at the same level, it would look strange to raise just the one.

Click to expand...

How about some pics? If there are 12 other Spruce trees in the same location that are doing well it is not likely that location is the problem.

Dave

gbig, you stated you had your tree service look at the spruce because it was "pretty green" and yet their report came back as "spruce brown or browning".

No, spruces do not like to sit in water. But as DMc asks, is this the only one that is?

Another thing to remember is that not all "blue" spruces are the same hue. Unless you bought one of the serious "bright" blue cultivars, these can very from very blue to dark green and are still Picea pungens. Seed variation.

Pictures would be good.

Whatever is going on. Fertilization is NOT the answer.

By the way, you do not need to spray for mites unless you have a SERIOUS problem. Hose the tree off with water. They can't handle it.

Sylvia

I'll post some pics tonight. I really appreciate the help with this. You saved me from wasting money on deep root fertilization.
Treeseer, I cannot see the flare on these blue spruce. That's another issue. They planted them too deep. I've already dug out all the maple trees they planted, until I got to the flare. I didn't dig out the blue spruce because I'm afraid I'll damage the shallow roots plus the branches are so close to the ground it's difficult to remove soil. I'll check out bald cypress.

S MC, I'm color blind, but my wife says the tree is green, not brown. So either she's wrong or the tree guy is. We already lost 2 blue spruce last year that were in the same area. The rest of them in the row are doing ok, we see growth and they are blue. The branches do sag though for some reason.

Pics coming tonight.
Thanks again

Urban Forester said:

fertilizing it would be like taking a shower with a raincoat on

Click to expand...

:agree2:

Hubcaps on a tractor!

Here's some pics. Let me know what you think. Thanks
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/71126519@N00/4710419068/" title="000_0843 by gbig2, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/4710419068_56d38537f8_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="000_0843" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/71126519@N00/4709778745/" title="000_0842 by gbig2, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4709778745_43066b3547_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="000_0842" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/71126519@N00/4709778485/" title="000_0841 by gbig2, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4054/4709778485_1ffa8858fd_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="000_0841" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/71126519@N00/4709778247/" title="000_0840 by gbig2, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4029/4709778247_c988c03f1c_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="000_0840" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/71126519@N00/4710418040/" title="000_0839 by gbig2, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4710418040_d3de08cf00_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="000_0839" /></a>

These trees ever have horticulture oil applied to control pests?

The tree service company has sprayed them for mites the past two Springs. I'm not sure what they've used. I could find out. Are you thinking that the oil could be preventing it from being as blue as it could?

Hort oil will remove the blue.It will not hurt the tree. The flair is very important as mentioned previously.

Hmmmm, that's interesting - that blue spruce definitely does not look happy, yet it's on the same raised bed as all of the other spruces which clearly pushed new growth as they should in Spring, the growth rate on your other blue spruces looks pretty decent - I planted 8 new blue spruces this Spring up on mounds and on berms, and they all pushed out 4-6" of new growth, the blue spruces I planted last year more than doubled in size this Spring.

Horticultural oil needs to be timed properly or it can cause harm, but I doubt it caused any problems in your case. The sickly spruce may have been planted too deep, how long have you had it planted at that site? Your planting site looks good otherwise, I can't imagine you have drainage problems considering the hilly terrain you live on, and the fact that you used a berm for the planting further convinces me that the spruce in question is not sitting in water. Have you had that berm soil tested? Take a couple soil samples to your county soil testing facility to find out if there is some sort of nutrient deficiency or pH issue. Pests could be a problem but you'd think they would've hit the other spruces on that berm.

The spruce nearest to your unhealthy spruce appears to have a double leader, during dormancy in the late Fall, clip off the smaller leader, or if they are the same size, flip a coin and choose one. You don't want more than one leader at the top.

The picture must be exaggerating the height of the berm. In fact, I wouldn't call it a berm. It's really ground level and the mulch is making it seem a little higher than the lawn. I really wish I had done a berm, raised the roots out of the water. The trees in the back, up on the hill are doing well, but yes, in the area of this green tree it gets very wet and water sits. When I dug the two dead ones out, the empty holes would fill with water after a rain.
It's been in that location for about 3 years. I did a soil test last spring and it came back normal.

While this area may be wet, it doesn't appear to be wet enough to cause decline in the other spruces, as another poster stated may be a possibilty. I would inspect the root crown of the one that has lost its color. It may be planted too deep, or over mulched. Anoxia (lack of 02) can occur as a result of roots being deeper than they are supposed to be as well as water driving out oxygen.

"Hubcaps on a tractor" ... Ive never heard that one before. Is it in public domain? I may have to add that one to my collection.

I'll dig it out, remove some mulch and soil tomorrow. Thanks

Ed Roland said:

These trees ever have horticulture oil applied to control pests?

Click to expand...

That's exactly what came to mind, after my first thought that deep root feeding is not such a grand idea.

Personally, I'd prefer shallow fertilization, but generally prefer next to none.

gbig, the rest of the spruces are doing well and the one at the end is not (3 time loser).

Are you saying this is a gentle downslope towards this one spot as all the others must be in sufficient drainage.

What I am noticing also is that there is a propane tank or septic tank behind the sickly spruce in the neighbor's yard. This could be a factor simply from the extra digging that went on to install it, creating an interface that is now blocking the drainage. As noted originally, spruces do not like to sit in wet soil, so where your others are doing fine (adequate drainage), this last one is simply not happy in the circumstances.

Without going to a new drainage design to mitigate this issue, you may simply want to adapt your thoughts as to what will survive in that one spot, even to forgo planting there. At least it is at the end of the row. And another issue that can happen when replacing a tree in an identical spot is that the ground has been disturbed that much more, it is easier to have settling issues, planting too deep, and the chance of mulch falling into the hole is greater. All problems that will inhibit the success of the tree.

The hort oil will "take away" the bluing on the spruce, but it will come back. That would certainly explain the variation in color on your healthy spruces. Be sure your spray regimen is not on the "knee jerk" response, but has a viable strategy base. Mites have multi-generations a year. A spray of water will knock them off with absolutely no harm to your trees.

Sylvia