Q.Blue Spruce losing bottom branches
I have a very tall Blue Spruce that is losing it’s bottom branches. What can I do? The tree is very tall…I’m guessing 30 ft and it looks beautiful from about 4 ft up, but the bottom branches are bare and it’s getting worse and going farther up.
If the upper branches provide too much shade, the lower branches naturally die off.
On a more serious note: It could be Cytospora Canker, Rhizosphaera Needle Cast, or Stigminia Needle Cast, which are all discussed in detail on the following website:
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/harrison/news/common-diseases-blue-spruce
https://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2008/2-6/Stigmina.html
It could also be the handiwork of a spruce spider mite:
https://extension.psu.edu/ipm/program/christmas-tree/pest-fact-sheets/needle-discoloration-and-injury/spruce-spider-mite.pdf
