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Is My Christmas Tree Dying?
Pamela Paterson
Posts: 2
in Talkback
I am asking on behalf of a work colleague who is not very computer savvy. She has a Christmas tree that has new growth on the outside that is very healthy and green looking. Further into the tree though the needles have all gone brown and look dead. She has had this tree for many years and is concerned that it is dying. Can anyone give us any information on this? Is it normal? Or is the tree dying? Thank you in advance.
0
Posts
The 'inside' of spruce and similar trees usually turns brown and leafless as the trees get older - it's only on the outside where the leaves/needles get the sunlight that they are green.
If it has new fresh shoots then it should be fine, but we have had a very dry year so far, so two or three buckets full of water would be a good idea if it hasn't been watered recently.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
She did say that the new growth is very green and healthy looking, and it seems to be the branches that they are growing out from that are going brown. That's fab then, hopefully its all ok then. I will tell her to give it a good watering just to be safe. Thank you so much
Have a look at the leaves, both old and new, and check for aphid infection. Severe aphid infection can cause premature needle drop. If its a Norway spruce then it will probably survive, american spruces seem more vulnerable to aphid attack and can gradually deteriorate over a couple of years.