Needled Evergreens Hide Injury

Q: My dwarf Alberta spruce is growing in a plastic whiskey barrel, and it has recently developed brown patches of dead needles. I have shaken the limbs over white paper to check for mites, and none were apparent. It is growing on the roof of my carport. I wonder if I need to have it moved to the ground, but sunshine is at a premium. 

A: Your first job should certainly be to move the tree into the ground. The plastic whiskey barrel is too small for the roots of a big tree like an Alberta spruce.

I think the brown spots are due to the dry soil in the barrel. The needles in the brown spots will not come back; in fact, the whole tree may not come back.

Needled evergreens, like spruce, cypress, and arborvitae, don’t show drought injury as obviously as other trees do. Your Alberta spruce might be at the end of its rope, but you won’t know it. Wherever you plant it, make sure it’s watered, but I make no guarantees.