Question
I have a number of shrubs that are like dwarf christmas trees.  I cover them in the winter and put fertilizer spikes out twice a year and water them every 5 days or so, but they have sustained substantial winter damage.  Some of them I paid well over $100 for and would love to know how I can save them.  The whole back side to one of them is dead and the others have dead areas also.  Do I prune off the dead areas?  Will they ever grow back??  Should I put out more fertilizer spikes?  I usually use miracle grow fertilizer spikes- is there a different product I should be using.  I'm really at a loss here..the shrubs did wonderfully for the first 3 years and this is just devastating to me.  I would greatly appreciate your input.  Sincerely, Trisha

Answer
Trisha,

From the description of the plants they are probably Alberta Spruces, but if this is so, then I suspect there is another problem other than winter injury. These plants are very susceptible to mite damage which causes defoliation that can look like winter injury.

I would recommend checking the plants for mite- hold a sheet of white paper under the live branches around the damaged area and shake the branch. If you see tiny red or black spots crawling around, then you have mites. If mites are present, spray the plants with a registered miticide to stop further feeding.

The plants should recover with the fertilizer that you been giving them, but it may take a while, as these plants are slow growing.

Good luck,
Ed Gulliksen