Question
I live in Memphis, Tennessee and have 2 Dwarf Alberta spruces on my porch that have developed brown patches. I got them in December and planted them in very large pots with about 3 inches of river stones at the bottom of the soil.  They receive afternoon sun and I water them whenever the soil at the top dries out - which is about every 3 days (it has been very hot and unusually dry here).  I抳e fertilized once a month since I got them with a regular all purpose plant food that I mix into their water.  Until now they have seemed very happy, and when spring came around they greatly increased their size with tons of new growth.  I抳e tried turning them every couple days, then increasing their water and neither have helped.  I抎 really appreciate any advice that you could send my way ?thanks.

Answer
Russ,

It sounds like the plants may have been attacked by Mites. Container planted spruces, especially ones that are over fertilized, are more stressed than ones that are planted in the garden where they can establish a full root system.

I would recommend checking for mites by placing a piece of white paper under the brown area and hitting the branches. If you see tiny ed or black dots crawling around on the paper, then you have mites. Treat with a registered miticide to control these pests. Stop fertilizing every month- plants (especially those that can easily become pot bound) only need feeding once or twice a year.

Good luck,
Ed Gulliksen