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Blue Spruce: Browning Foliage

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From: dave Lesperance City: aurora, IL
I have 5 25 ft blue spruce, 18 yrs old that are planted next to each other, side by side. I have noticed a couple of branches in the middle are starting to turn brown on one of the trees, is this normal? I do not believe I had browning in the past, can I send a picture of the tree?
	Extension Message From: Jay Hayek Extension Specialist, Forestry Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences jhayek@illinois.edu
Greetings Dave: Browning of foliage due to age and lack of sunlight causes interior needles to brown and fall to the ground--this of course, is natural. However, if needles toward the tip of the branches are browning and falling off, then you may have an issue which may warrant closer examination. Feel free to email me (jhayek@illinois.edu) some high-resolution digital photos of the affected tree and foliage. In your instance, you can also take some photos and branch samples to the Morton Arboretum Plant Clinic in Lisle, IL.
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