I recently purchased a home with some pretty sick landscaping. We are in a severe drought in the southeast. I have three of these that all look pitiful. What is the best way to prune & fertilize to get them healthy again?

Your plant is a type of spruce called "Fat Albert". It does look bad but pruning will only cause it to look worse. There are no green branches in the middle of the plant - if you prune, you will be exposing the dead sticks in the center. I'm surprised it has lasted this long. Spruce trees and southeast probably shouldn't be used in the same sentence. The only way you can get a Fat Albert to survive in your area is to mulch heavily and keep the soil constantly moist.

LizStreet; hello and welcome!
In my experience and job, I see this quite often and judging by your picture, I'd say that even if you didn't have a drought your tree would still have this problem. I would add to Daisyl's advice and suggest an acid infused fertilizer or amendment, (IMO) Miracle Grow has the best products for this problem, just keep in mind that if you use the water soluble powder, then you'll have to religously apply or you could get the tree stakes and pound them in at least twice a year.

Your problem is lime from the sidewalk on one side and the foundation on the other leaching into the soil, and MOST evergreens don't do well under those conditions. The sulphur in the stakes or miracid would bring down the ph level in your soil, and your tree will not only survive but thrive. There are some really good tips on acidifying your soil on the internet, just be cautious using sulfides nearly all of them can cause your soil to become toxic from the metal ' rider ' used to produce it. I'm particularly wary of aluminum sulfide for that very reason. But in any case; good luck and good gardening!

DaisyI said:

Your plant is a type of spruce called "Fat Albert".

It's not 'Fat Albert'.



Maybe a dwarf Alberta spruce, not 100% sure.



Is the browning on all sides of the plant, or primarily on one side? One other thing to check for is spider mites.

It may have nothing to do with the problem but I'm not keen on dyed black mulch, I'm not sure if it's because it gets too hot in the sun or if it's the dye or coincidence but some plants don't seem to like it.

Sorry, yes. Dwarf Alberta Spruce.

My recommendations stay the same: Spruce need a cold winter to thrive.

Agreed, they don't typically do well in hotter climates, or drier, and the black mulch may exacerbate that. Those conditions may also exacerbate the spider mites to which they are prone and which can cause brown dead areas, so I still think it is worth checking for those.

too. Was thinking that the spotty browning on that tree looks like it could be spider mite damage. Here's what I'd do:

First, do NOT cut out any of the brown areas. You will just leave holes that will never fill in. Let the tree recover, hose it down from weekly in dry weather to wash off any new spider mite infestations and those twigs might grow new green needles. Let's hope.

Second you could cut off the dead twigs around the base if you want. Winter is probably a good time to do that. Or just plan to plant something around the tree that will screen that area in the spring.

Third, definitely cover up that black mulch with some natural colored wood chips so it's not so horribly hot in that area next summer. That poor little tree has been very stressed which would make it more susceptible to the spider mites.

I also hate dyed mulch whether red, or brown or black, but I'd dare to assume that the icky stuff has probably leached out of that mulch by now. Natural wood chip mulch does a much better job of cooling the soil since it bleaches out to a nice light color. All plants appreciate having their roots kept a little bit cooler in summer, not to mention the other benefits of holding in moisture and preventing erosion/compaction of the soil.