Question
Hi Darlene,
Over the Christmas Holidays my daughter in law sent us a Dwarf Alberta Spruce tree. When the tree arrived the pot was in plastic bag which I left on until a few days ago.  The lower part of the tree is turning brown and the needles are felling off. The top of the tree appears to have some new growth and is still green.  The instructions that came with the tree were followed for indoor use. " While indoors, your tree needs bright natural light and plenty of water. Keep soil moist but not soggy at all times"
I have followed these instructions but the tree in general does not seem to be doing well. Do you also think that the keeping of the pot in the plastic bag may have harmed the tree?  I will be very thankful for any help or suggestions that you can give me.
Helene


Answer
Helene,

A dwarf Alberta spruce is an outdoor landscape plant that will survive indoors for a few weeks over Christmas but needs to be planted in the ground outdoors by the middle of January. If you live in zone 7 or south of that.  If you live in the north it needs to go out in a cool attached garage in the window where it will not freeze solid but will be cooler than indoors, or it can go on an attached unheated porch, in a shed or any where else where it will get light and be cool. Then it can be planted outdoors as soon as the soil can be dug in.
Also, keeping it moist does not mean keeping the top surface of the soil moist, it means keeping the root ball slightly moist. When the surface is dry the rootball is still moist, if the surface is moist the rootball is soggy.
Cut back on the water immediately and move it to a cool sunny location or plant it outdoors immediately or as soon as night temps are above 40 degrees.  Good luck.