My Norway Spruce is Dying

Question

I got some trees for Christmas, and most of them are thriving, but my Norway Spruce is not doing too hot. At first, I thought I had over watered her, her leaves were drooping, but weren't brittle, so I moved her from her pot so she could dry. Now, however, her leaves have turned brown towards the base and seem dry, but her soil is still moist. I gave her some more water, but I don't know how to help her. I'm also worried she doesn't seem to have many roots? With plants I've grown in the past, they've all had expansive roots, but when I moved her, she seemed to have no roots at all. I didn't want to dig around in the dirt too much, at the risk of breaking her roots, which I have done with a pepper plant in the past and still feel badly about, but I was checking for mold or rot and she just didn't seem to have many roots. I don't know if this is normal or not, I can't find much information online for growing Norway Spruces from seeds. Does anyone know what might be wrong with her, or how to help her?

Answer 1

It looks as if the seedlings may have suffered a drought or similar at some point. Here is a picture of a group of healthy spruce seedlings courtesy of Dreamstime for you to make a comparison.

If we look very closely at your seedling the critical point is right at the neck of the stalk where it branches off into separate needles. That point looks as though it has withered, perhaps due to drought or alternatively due to a damping off fungus. Either way that point is likely damaged to the point that it cannot continue growing to extend the stem or produce new needles.

You might hold on to it for a while to see what happens but to be blunt it looks like toast. Cut your losses and move on to other opportunities having gained valuable experience.