Hi, you haven't said anything at all about what the tree's planted in (soil, not pot), how often you water, and how long you've had it. Did it come with a layer of pebbles glued to the top? The problem is that it's 99% likely to be in potting soil, aka peat moss, which just never drains properly, so it's likely half drowned. Brown needles and hard foliage mean the tree's probably gone and probably for some time, but you just didn't realize it. It needed to live outdoors, not in, for all the sun it could get, and air circulation, and natural humidity and rain water, and especially for the chance to go dormant in the cold for months over winter. It also needed to be in a lot of grit, pine or fir bark and a very little bit (if any) of sandy soil that drains fast, and not to be watered til the majority of the soil had dried. Does any of this help?

Ademink, Thanks for the pictures, also with these I'm getting wiser! I'll start another topic about these cones because there's a strange situation going on... This Abies koreana cultivar isn't a 'Horstmann' but a 'Silberlocke' To be complete: Abies koreana 'Silberlocke', in the past as 'Horstmann's Silberlocke' Abies koreana 'Horstmann'is a complete differend one and is a dwarf seedling selection. Abies koreana 'Horstmann'

Ah, yes, the 'bathtub affect'! I should clarify that when I mentioned 'well-amended', I meant adding steer compost. The Nursery salespeople darkly warned me that my conifers were doomed to instanteous death if I did not purchase their magical bag of conifer starting mix which consisted of, I believe, mushroom compost and other pricey stuff. I was told that 'conifers are hard to grow so you need this planting medium'. Alas, there was no room in the SUV so it stayed at the nursery. I find it very strange that all the 20 Colorado blue spruce that were just 'plunked' in their holes 25 years ago without this magical elixir are still alive and well. I should not tell them that their demise is imminent. And yes, FaceBook pics will be published!

hi dave... i recognize the tag name.. but cant remember which dave ... are you coming to hidden lakes this weekend???? if so, perhaps you want to stop after and see for yourself ... email me in advance for directions .... link below to AmConifSoc website database .... insert silberlocke into the cultivar name ... there are a few pix .. and note the growth rate .... at 3 to 6 inches .... as i stated .... i bought small one gals .... put in the nursery for a few year.. takes them a bit to get up to speed on annual growth rate ..... and then i move them out into the range .... where it takes them a few other years to get to normal growth rate .... regardless... 3 inches is normal ... but i suspect they will get to 6 inches per year... when fully established ... good luck ken