Dear Forum Members:

Last fall my wife and I bought and planted 5 Dwarf Alberta Spruce trees in our back yard. The trees are between 2 and 3 feet tall. My wife noticed that the backside of the trees are turning brown while the front (facing the house) is still green. I trees have been buried at the proper depth and I mixed in Sphagnum with the soil,which is almost clay, to get the trees off to a good start.

She called someone from Home Depot (where we bought them) and asked for suggestions. The person she spoke with said that the trees were wind burned. They also said that if we have our receipt from last year we could return the trees in exchange.

Does this sound like the true problem? What can I do to prevent from having to dig of the trees and looking for a small receipt?

Any suggestions you have would be of help. Thank you .

GJ

 

The wind burn may go away. I have cryptomeria (Japanese cedar) here. They get browned along the prior year's growth from the cold, but it greens up in the spring. If your trees are showing new growth with the brown not improving it may be that the damage is permanent. I would think that an Alberta spruce would be resistant to the cold.

Hope this helps.