Blue spruce disease

[crazy4saws]

Hello everyone, we have a 30 year old healthy  blue spruce tree until recently it's always taken care of itself. About a month ago starting at the bottom a redish brown color started to appear and worked it's way up to where it is now which is about 1/2 way. I've attached pcitures. Is this a disease? Can the tree be treated with something to remove whatever is attacking it?

Thank you

  

 

[derhntr]

My mom's blues started dying last year too some are dead half way up them by no brown on them yet this year. The are 25-30 year old's too.

[sprucebunny]

Just some ideas: if it has mulch around the base; remove it.

In the Northeast, acid rain was causing leaching of calcium from the soil and killing red spruce. Buy an all purpose fertilizer with calcium or an evergreen fertilizer and add bonemeal. Water in well. Prune off dead branches about 2" from trunk.

No answer, just some ways to try to save it.

[derhntr]

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/what_is_spruce_decline_and_what_should_you_do_about_it

Some general info

[cvasara]

Thank  You for the links and information.  I planted these trees about 25 years ago or so.  In hind site, too close together.  One of them is close to a White Pine tree that shows some of the same stress branches. 
All beautiful trees, when small and young, but now, not so much.   But they still provide that 'snow fence'
in those heavy snow storms we get around here in the Winter.
As a side note, I have about 30 Blue Spruce planted at my place of business,  in a long row, full sunlight, and don't see any issues with them.  I planted them in 1995 - 1996

[derhntr]

You are welcome cvasara.  At my mom's we have around 500 of the blue spruce more than half are infected. Have 30 that I am going to cut down 30 feet tall and only to 10 feet have needles. Might try and saw a couple on my saw mill.

[Kbeitz]

Looks like Cooley spruce gall. Do you have Douglas Fir around the area?
The gall require two hosts to complete their normal life cycle...

[heyluther]

Cytospora Canker diseases are pretty common on spruce. In my 30 years as a landscape contractor, it seems that those that start from the bottom and move their way up are the most serious. White sap run on the trunk usually occurs with this disease. Those that effect branches mid tree less so. Unfortunately no worthwhile effective treatment except pruning with CLEAN disinfected pruners.

[Al_Smith]

I had the same thing a few years back .Called the Ohio state forester and they said it's because of the heavy soils in Ohio and two wet springs in a row.

It was explained to me that spruce is a mountain tree used to well drained soils .They suggested I prune the infected limbs which started at the bottom levels and dipping the pruners in a solution of bleach,burn all the limbs .I think in all I only lost two but saved about a dozen .At the same time a local golf course lost over 100 .