Pix of Mystery Ailment

fab2

Hello-
We raise trees on a few acres of ground and for the first time in 30 years our Norway Spruce ( we also have white pine and arborvitae) have something wrong. Hours searching the internet , and a long visit to a local Agway poring over books and images have yielded nothing to help. The trees range in age from 3-8 years and 12"-3 feet tall. The ends are turning brown and curling up all over the trees, In addition, new growth buds are drying up and turning brown. This is happening in a pretty uniform pattern- not in patches or at any specific location on the trees.We have examined closely and see no cankers, growths, or pests. We hope someone might be able to tell us what we can spray to give the trees a chance of survival. Thank you so much. Pictures below.

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Eric Frei

Personally I think it's a fungal pathogen.

The forum has had plenty of these in the past. There's needle cast diseases, blights etc which are fungal pathogens.

There is also winter frost damage but I doubt that as it's now warmer over there.

If it's fungal you should spray with a copper based fungicide.

Are these trees suited or indigenous to the area? I ask because it appears common for conifers to get these types of problems outside of their natural areas. Over here I see a lot of tip browing and we only need a little change in the weather (too wet, too dry, too cold, too hot etc) to set it off.

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TreeSpecialist

"Tip blight" - usually a Diplodia?fungus - can cause this as well as the Cypress?tip moth (Argyresthia cupressella).

The little critter is hard to find and folks don't usually see it. Check out this link:

Cypress tip moth

for more information.

What ever it is, it doesn't look too serious.

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treeshaveneeds

It might also be adelges - small insect that infects conifer tips, creates a small cone like growth, and stops the growth in that tip. Best control, cut off infected tips. Unless severe infestation, seldom kills tree. Can check on correct spelling and more info if you think this is the problem. Can't quite tell from pics.