The spruce is an attractive sight, especially in spring with its young, light green shoot tips. On the other hand, bare branches are unattractive when a spruce tree loses its needles. You should therefore react in good time when the first needles turn brown.
If the spruce needles excessively, pests can be behind it
Why do spruce needles at all?
It is not always a cause for concern when a spruce tree loses its needles, because some replacement is quite common. The individual needles live for around six to 13 years, depending on the type of spruce and the stress level. This leads to the needles falling off prematurely.
However, if your spruce loses an excessive number of needles, there can be many different reasons behind it. Dryness is one of the reasons, but it's easy to fix. Waterlogging and nutrient deficiencies are another possibility to consider, as are pests and diseases
What should I do now?
Check the soil under your spruce for moisture and pH. In case of drought, water the spruce greenish, in case of wet and/or heavy soil, create a drainage. The pH value tells you whether the soil is too acidic. This can be compensated for with a small dose of lime.
Pests can also lead to brown needles and later to shedding. Don't just think of the bark beetle, which primarily damages the bark, but also of spider mites and various plant lice. Under certain circumstances, however, the location is the cause, because walls or foundations significantly restrict the root space.
Will pruning my spruce help?
The spruce often reacts to a pruning with large gaps that only close again very slowly. However, if individual branches are heavily infested with pests, they should be removed.
Possible causes of needling:
- dryness
- waterlogging
- nutrient deficiency
- poor growth after transplanting
- various plant diseases or pests
tips
The sooner you pay attention to brown needles on your spruce and react to excessive needle loss, the sooner your spruce can recover.