Dying Norway Spruce Seedlings

[den]

Last spring we planted 350 4yr. bareroot Norway Spruce seedlings.
We had a dry summer but we watered regularly. We used a posthole auger to dig the holes. They were planted around the property line, which is a hayfield.
The first to die were the ones that didn't get new growth. Once they start to change color they eventually die. We didn't find mites. So far we lost 120 with more to die.
I called the county agent and he thought we did everything right and didn't know what was killing them. Were planning on replacing the dead ones Oct.1st
Dennis

[bitternut]

I don't know what your soil is like in your area but you can run into problems planting with an auger sometimes. If you have a clay soil and the soil is wet or clumpy when you auger the holes you can sort of burnish the wall of the holes if you are not careful. This seals the hole and the roots can actually be like sitting in a bucket of water. I had the same experience once. The trees I planted where the soil was real sticky mostly died and the ones where the soil was loose and fell off the auger all survived. Since that experience I pay close attention to how the soil falls or doesn't fall off the auger. If its sticky at all I dig by hand. That solved the problem for me but of course it is much more work. Then again maybe it isn't since you are less likely to have to be replanting.

[SwampDonkey]

I find spruce do pourly on soils with fluctuating water table with heavy clay. Especially ground that has water on the surface alot. Often they will be stunted and the weeds eventually choke them out. Now on gravel pits I see wild white spruce seedlings flurish as long as there is a veneer of topsoil on top of the gravel pit. My ground on the woodlot has alot of gravel mixed in, even though some areas are wet. The gravelling soil drains well and allows aeration of the roots. There's pictures of my plantations here on the fourm and the seedlings are 7 to 12 feet ('96 plantings) high now, with fir, pop and hardwood up to 16 feet. Planted in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002.  Still planting seeds. 8)

[Mike_Barcaskey]

den,
bitternut hit on one problem. not sure where you are located, but we got a place in Mercer County. we strive for 3/4 or better success.
When we plant bare root spruce and pine, we throw a row with a till, and then come behind with a couple of shovel fulls of rotten wood chips at the intervals the trees are going. hand mix a little and plant.
same as you, planting along the edge of fields.
I see lots of problems with auger planted plants in the suburbs. a couple years later you can pull the dieing plant out of the hole like it was in a pot.

[Ron Wenrich]

According to Den's profile, he's in Greencastle, PA.  That's close to the PA, MD line, and just a little north of Hagerstown, MD.  The soil there is primarily of limestone origin, so the clay issue is prety well out the window on this one.

Although you may have watered them, I think the drought has done them in.  I have had a hard time with rhododendron this summer.  I watered them on a regular basis, but when you go for several weeks without rainfall, anything you put on the plants quickly disperses though the soil.  You would have had to put on lots of water to sidestep the water issue this summer.

The other factor is to make sure that none of the roots are J rooted at the time of planting.  If any of the roots stick out of the hole, there can be problems.

[Timburr]

SwampDonkey, sorry to fluctuate your water table theory  :D  but norway is one spruce that does well on heavy clays. It's success is poor on drier sites. It needs a minimum of 35" of rain p.a. to flourish well.

Den, another transplanting factor is that nor. spruce is very intolerant to wind. They are happiest in a sheltered site. If your site is exposed, a dessicating wind would explain their demise. 
Do norway already grow well in your area? I'm thinking species choice here. Although aesthetically appealing with light green, dense foliage, they have very shallow root plates. This makes them wind-weak when mature. When planted in a line around your boundary, they have no mutual support from the ravages of the wind.

Over the last 12 year I've transplanted 7000+ n.s. so am familiar with some of it's foibles. So, if you need more norway specific info. I'm a keyboard away.

Cheers Tim

[SwampDonkey]

I think the remarks concerning clay soils was a possible diagnoses for that soil type and not a suggestion that the site was actually composed of clay soil. Just think of it as an excerpt (snippet) from a soils survey report of your state, and there are other types of soils to consider, to aid a proper diagnoses. Sure helps to know your soil type to give a proper diagnoses though. Even looking on a soils map of a soil survey doesn't tell  the whole story, as there are many inclusions (or other soil types) on that sampled area which may not be mapped. Sampling can be on a grid of several hundred feet to several miles apart. So dig a good sized soil pit or planting site and ID your soil or have a local agrologist help out. In Canada, these folks belong to Associations with legal status akin to RPF associations in some provinces or states. ;)

As I've said before and possibly others, the best time for planting bare root or transplanting wild trees is before shoot elongation. Drought stress as Ron suggests is a big killer of plantings. Even if you use container stock, when you think you added enough water, it still isn't enough. What happens alot with container stock is the water beeds up and gets shed right off the plug surface and it takes a good soaking to overcome this. With bare root, if the roots laid in the sun for a period allowing them to dry out, then you'll have high mortality. Keep the roots moist.

[SwampDonkey]

Interesting, they seem to do very well on well drained sandy loams in my area. Plant them on a wet pasture site with fluctuating water table and you get 80 % mortality. Weeds have a big impact even though sites are sprayed. Old fields are usually layered with an upper and lower weed layer. Then there are the released weeds from the spraying activity. : There are alot of dry pastures planted with Norway spruce here. But 40 inches of rain, which we average annually is not as wet as you think, if you have properly aerated soils. ;D I will agree with you on the wind, a cold NW winter wind on fields with no cover will often wipe out most of a plantation of Norway spruce. Our best method to date is using a 2 furrow plow spaces 6-7 feet between furrows and the trees are good for the first 3 years, which is most critical. We've planted 100,000's of norway spruce locally. ;D

[SwampDonkey]

Some info from Ohio DNR on Norway spruce

[den]

Thanks guys, some great ideas!!
I happen to be in a slate area (with a layer of clay ), but most areas around here are limestone.
I sprayed a 2' area with RoundUp 3 weeks before we were going to plant the trees.
The trees were tall and spindly. I purchased a tree digging bar, but they said the roots are to large, so I would need to dig holes thats why I used a posthole auger on the skidloader.
For watering we used a 300 gal. tank with a hose. We let the water go on the tree slow till it started to run away (about 2 gal. )
We picked up the plants on a Fri. and planted them that weekend( Easter ), we kept them damp and inside.