Greetings Andrea:
Spruce decline in the Midwest, most notably with white spruce and blue spruce, has become very prevalent over the last decade. This is likely due to the fact that widespread planting of blue spruce has occurred over the last 20-40 yrs and these trees are now starting to show stress and decline. But why?
As I've indicated before in this forum, site selection is critical to tree selection and I believe the majority of these stress- or decline-related problems are simply due to the fact that "someone" selected the wrong tree for the soil type and site. Blue spruce is native to the Rocky Mountain region of the US and grows best on well-drained, coarser textured soils. What happens when you force a tree onto a site that it is not physiologically adapted to -- it will eventually succumb to the awkward growing environment by becoming weakened and susceptible to diseases and even insects.
So, what should you do? Well, start by contacting an ISA certified arborist for an on-site assessment and evaluation as it is my policy to avoid email or Web-based tree care decisions in the absence of physically examining the tree(s). Therefore, please contact a local ISA certified arborist for assistance.
http://www.illinoisarborist.org/CertifiedArboristsNew.htm
