This little tree is looking worse as the weeks go by, bare branches and brown needles. It's been properly watered and I did use fertilizer sticks earlier in the Fall (New Jersey). Should I try to save it or just replace it?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

P.S. Happy Halloween!

What does the top look like?

Top quarter to a third looks okay, although pine cones have been brown from the start.

Well, it is not dying, but it seems to have suffered some localized damage. It will probably always look a bit awkward, so whether to replace it or not would be your call.

Thanks. Do you think I should prune the dead branches?

Yes, prune out the dead branches but new branches will not re-grow. You will always have a bare spot. The tree looks healthy otherwise.

Thank you for your help!

That is a very young Picea pungens var. glauca - a blue selection of Colorado Spruce. All the live branches remaining in that area will continue to grow, and will likely cover that currently open spot where you have lost some branches/foliage. Spruce cones are supposed to be beige-y brown, that's normal.

Yes, prune out dead wood carefully - and look for Bagworms or evidence of other insects, pathogens, or cause of damage. Bagworms are often the silent cause of such areas being stripped of needles and leaving "dead spots". The bags of bagworms will be the only thing left by this time of year - and they mimic cones to the casual observer - but the bags from females will be full of eggs for next year's voracious larvae. Removing and destroying them NOW will reduce/eliminate such damage next year.

Thank you so much.