Over the years, spruce trees in our area of Michigan may encounter several different types of health threats, not the least of which is needle cast disease. You can identify this disease most easily by the spruce needles becoming discolored and eventually turning brown. When you notice this, it's imperative that you call a professional team ASAP to eradicate the disease before it does more harm to your spruce tree. Regular fertilizer treatments will help nurse your spruce tree back to health and bolster it against future diseases!

The most identifiable sign of needle cast disease is spruce needles developing discoloration.

Spruce needle cast tree disease found in Macomb. MI.

The first step in combatting needle cast disease is being able to properly identify it. When spruce tree needles are infected, they'll become discolored, first turning bright yellow. From there, needles will turn a purplish-pink and finally, brown when they have succumbed to the fungus. As the fungus matures, it will start to develop rows of black bumps along the infected needles. These black bumps will produce spores that continuously infect other parts of the spruce tree, so it's imperative to try and catch the disease before this stage if at all possible.

Factors like drought or poor planting can stress trees and make them more likely to suffer from needle cast disease.

What should you do when your spruce tree has needle cast disease?

When you discover needle cast disease on your spruce trees, the best course of action to take is to contact a professional team that is familiar with the disease and knows how to thoroughly tackle the issue. With fungal diseases, it can be easy to miss infected sections when you're doing it on your own and don't know what to look for. Errors like this can lead to reinfestation, putting you back at square one! Professional teams will not only have the experience and tools needed to ensure that all of the disease is eradicated, but also the right curative treatment product to address this specific fungus for maximum efficiency. When you're talking about the health of your spruce tree, it's better to be safe than sorry!

Colorado blue and Engelmann spruce trees are particularly susceptible to needle cast disease.

Regular fertilizer treatments will help your spruce tree recover after needle cast disease.

Tree injection with fertilizer in Chesterfield, MI.Once the bout of needle cast disease is taken care of, you may feel like your job is done, but you aren't out of the woods yet. Your tree would benefit from extra support so that it can recover swiftly, especially if it has survived a larger infestation. The best way to administer support is through regular fertilizer treatments that will nourish your tree with the nutrients needed to bolster its health. Root injections are a great way to do this as well, which will involve injecting the fertilizer into the soil, delivering the nutrients directly to the deep roots of the tree. With a healthier foundation to stand on, your spruce tree will be more resilient to future diseases that attempt to infect it!

Say goodbye to needle cast disease. Call our team to enroll in our tree and shrub disease control program!

At Big Lakes Lawncare, our passion is in helping better the lawns and landscapes of our clients. We are dedicated to putting a stop to diseases that threaten your trees and shrubs! With our tree and shrub disease control program, we'll visit your property multiple times a year to survey your landscaping plants and catch diseases before they become established. If you already have needle cast disease present in your spruce tree, our highly effective curative treatments will kick it to the curb! We offer services to commercial, residential, and HOA property owners in Macomb, MI and nearby areas like Shelby and Chesterfield. Call our team at (586) 200-0855 today to enroll in our tree and shrub disease control program!