Question
Hello and thank you for taking my question,
I have a 30' White Spruce that was damaged during construction in my neighbors yard. The city has sent me a demand notice to take it down, citing that it is dead. I'm not disputing that this tree has faded quickly, but it still has needles and sap coming out. Is there a so called litmus test that determines with some certainty whether it is dead or not?

Answer
If all the needles on the tree are brown the tree is dead. Hardwoods have the capability of budding back out after they lose their leaves BUT conifers when they lose their needles they are dead. Sorry. If the ends of the branches are still green (needles) it may still make it but if the roots were damaged the chances are it will die.