Eastern white pine vs Norway spruce

Its most serious disease is white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), which attacks the bark and usually kills the infected tree. The fungus needs currants and gooseberries (Ribes) as alternate hosts, so do not plant it near blackcurrants, redcurrants or gooseberries. On limy, alkaline soil the needles turn yellow (chlorosis), and in the hot, dry lowland summers of Central Europe it suffers from water stress and spider mites, while weakened trees are attacked by bark beetles and aphids. The branches are brittle and can break in wind and under heavy snow. In Central Europe it escapes from gardens and forestry plantings: on acidic sandstone areas it regenerates in large numbers and displaces Scots pine, so do not plant it near protected areas or forests.

In the lowlands and hills of Central Europe Norway spruces are dying in large numbers after the hot, dry summers of recent years, in gardens and parks too: the shallow-rooted, drought-weakened tree is attacked by the spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus), which cuts off the flow of water and nutrients under the bark, and an infested tree cannot be saved and should be felled quickly. In dry, warm spots spider mites and the green spruce aphid (Elatobium abietinum) also cause needle drop, adelgids distort the new shoots, and weakened trees get needle cast, canker and root and butt rot (Heterobasidion). Do not plant the full-size species on dry, poor soil, in city gardens or on the plains, and remember that a planted-out rooted Christmas tree becomes the same large, demanding tree. The dwarf forms need moist soil and summer watering just the same, but being small they are easier to water and mulch.