Deep root fertilization, helpful or scam?

[gbig2]

Yes, it's a gentle slope and the rest get good drainage.
I'll stop with the mite spraying. Is there a certain time of year I should blast water at the trees? Spring right? So just blast water at them every couple weeks?

 

[ChrisWNY]

Just stick your finger in the soil or use a screwdriver - if the soil feels real crumbly and dry, water. If the soil is moist, you won't need to water. Spruces do ok in drier soil as well, so to err on the side of caution, only water when that soil seems really dry, after a dry spell of at least a week or two. Normally your area of PA receives a consistent amount of rainfall, so you will most likely not need to provide much supplemental water, especially if you keep your mulch layer 3-4" deep.

 

[S Mc]

gbig, here is a pdf regarding spruce spider mites in Pennsylvania which may help answer specific questions, specific to your area. I encourage you to read it in full as it will tell you when the peak periods for mite activity are apt to be. However, here are the basic management options. Note the caution on using insecticidal soap and hort oil on blue spruces.

Management Options

Biological: There are several naturally occurring predators of spruce spider mites in the landscape. Predatory mites, lady beetles, minute pirate bugs, and dusty wings can keep the spruce spider populations in check during the summer months but there is often a lag time between the build-up of spider mite populations and predators due to slower reproductive rates. Control of spider mites through the purchase and release of predators in the landscape is currently being researched.

Mechanical: Spider mites can be dislodged from plants during heavy rains. Spraying the plant with a steady forceful jet of water from a hose twice a week during periods of peak mite activity can greatly reduce the mite population and help conserve the natural predators.

Cultural: Spider mites thrive on plants under drought stress , therefore, provide adequate water during dry periods.

Chemical: Most spider mites can be managed with the use of insecticidal soap or horticultural oils. Both of these products can remove the silvery blue-gray color from the needles of Picea pungens var. glauca and its many cultivars.

http://woodypests.cas.psu.edu/factsheets/InsectFactSheets/html/Spruce_Spider_Mite.html

Sylvia

 

[rarefish383]

If it's not a health issue making your tree loose it's blue color you might want to give this little trick a try. My Dad used to do this to get the most Blue out of his Blue Spruces. Take a few pads of fine steel wool and pull them apart and stretch them out, barry them under the mulch around the drip line of the tree. The Iron will leatch into the ground and extra Iron will help produce more blue. We always had the Bluest Blue Spruce in town, Joe.

 

[StihlyinEly]

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.

I was thinking that it looks a bit like the early stages of a needle cast fungus, which is common Minnesota. Not sure if it occurs out there. Any tree service pro in MN will be able to recognize it, so if it happens in PA I'd be surprised if your tree guy missed it.

But in view of your quoted comments, I think the tree is too wet. You could lift it and reset it with a tree spade (spendy). You could pull back the mulch from around the tree, as mulch will hold in moisture. Usually a good thing, but not if the roots are too wet. That will also help if anoxia is the culprit, and it costs nothing. If it were my tree and the water conditions are as you say, I'd get rid of the mulch and see if that allows the ground to dry faster after rains. They are a shallow-rooted tree, and it may respond to this quickly. But I think if that is the problem, it'll take a year or two to recover.

Worst comes to worst, you could jerk it and replace it. Also very spendy.