Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Picea pungens Bakeri losing needles and a few branches, 0 by jhart

jhart wrote:
Hi, all. I have a Picea pungens Bakeri that was planted April 2009. It has generally been doing well and looking good since it was planted, except earlier this summer it lost one small side branch (maybe in early July), then a few weeks later another small side branch. At the time, the lost branches were so small I didn't think much of it, except thought maybe they were slightly damaged back in the spring when the tree was transported and planted. Well, at the end of August, I noticed 2 more small side branches dying. I have included a photo below of one of those branches. I have more photos but I don't know how to post multiple photos, so I'll post those photos separately. If anyone has any idea on what could be causing the occasional side branch to die, I'd really appreciate it. I do see a few spider webs on the tree here and there and I will post a photo of that, don't know if that's helpful or not to see a photo of it. The tree is on a drip irrigation system and in a zone with other plants, so it gets watered once or twice a week but with a very slow drip so it's not tons of water, just enough to wet the root ball. It gets sun from about 12:30 or 1 until sundown. I'm in zone 7b, Richmond, Virginia.