Content
Spruce is an unpretentious and hardy tree, but this does not mean that it can do without any care at all. Abandoned specimens inevitably lose their decorative properties. In addition to basic agrotechnical measures, more complex manipulations are also necessary, including pruning. It is important to study the general rules and nuances of its implementation in advance, since illiterate actions can seriously harm the tree. And vice versa, it looks very aesthetically pleasing and neat if the gardener knows how to trim the spruce so that it is fluffy or gives the crown a certain shape.
Is it possible to trim a spruce on the site?
Spruce is a long-lived tree, therefore, if formative pruning is neglected, it turns into a chaotic interweaving of shoots due to active growth in width and the appearance of auxiliary branches. It is also necessary to limit the height of the tree - it can reach 20-60 m.
To maintain a presentable appearance, spruce definitely needs pruning, and not only sanitary pruning
Is it possible to trim the top of a spruce tree?
Some gardeners trim the top of the spruce tree, hoping to stop its growth. In principle, the tree will survive such a procedure, but the desired goal will not be achieved.
After trimming the crown, the growth rate of the branches closest to the cut sharply intensifies, they begin to bend upward. As a result, one of them defeats competitors, becoming a replacement for the top.
If you cut off only the crown, the symmetry of the tree crown is lost; it is almost impossible to restore it
Timing for pruning spruce
The most suitable time for formative pruning of spruce is the end of summer or the beginning of autumn. The specific period depends on the climatic characteristics of the region and the long-term weather forecast. It takes 3-4 weeks for the cuts to heal. Accordingly, approximately this amount of time should remain until the first frost.
Sanitary pruning of the Christmas tree is carried out in early spring, while the buds have not yet awakened and started to grow, always at above-zero temperatures. At this time, branches are clearly visible, frozen and broken under the weight of snow.
From the moment of the first frost until above-zero temperatures are established at night in the spring, any pruning of spruce (common forest and hybrid) is excluded. It will lead to freezing of the wood and, most likely, to its death.
In summer, minor corrections are acceptable to maintain the desired crown shape
Young spruce trees aged 3-5 years do not need formative pruning - it is replaced by pinching shoots during the period of the most active growth of the tree. Their sanitary pruning can be done in the fall, when the tree has already gone into hibernation.
Tools and materials
Depending on the thickness of the tree shoots and its height, the desired crown configuration, the following tools may be needed for pruning:
- gardening scissors;
- regular pruning shears;
- spring pruning shears with retractable handles (necessary for trimming tall spruce);
- lopper or lopping shears;
- special hedge shears;
- garden saw;
- hacksaw.
Any tool must be sharpened and disinfected before cutting.
You don’t have to use garden varnish when trimming a Christmas tree. It can be successfully replaced by a resin that releases from wounds and hardens fairly quickly.
Also, pruning spruce requires auxiliary equipment and special equipment:
- stepladder or other ladder (for trees over 2 m high);
- glasses or face shield that fit tightly to the face;
- clothes made of thick fabric with long sleeves and trousers;
- closed shoes;
- protective gloves made of thick rubber or rubberized.
It is not advisable to use a chainsaw, an ax, or ordinary stationery or tailor's scissors to trim spruce. Firstly, it is simply very inconvenient and ineffective, and secondly, in most cases, they leave behind tattered cuts that take a long time to heal.
Spruce cutting technology
The technology for trimming fir trees in the garden, regardless of the chosen scheme, requires knowledge of the general basic rules:
- Formative pruning is carried out for the first time no earlier than 3 years after planting the seedling in a permanent place, when the spruce reaches 0.5-1 m in height. The only exception is dwarf trees.Sanitary – after a year of being in the open ground
- For the procedure, choose a relatively cool, cloudy, dry day. If you trim a spruce tree in extreme heat, it begins to evaporate much more moisture than usual. A reaction to such overdrying may be yellowing of the needles.
- Approximately half an hour before pruning, water the spruce. This reduces the risk of dehydration of the tree.
- When forming a fantasy crown, its natural silhouette is taken into account, preserving lines and outlines if possible. Then trimming the tree will take less time and will have to be done less often.
- The branches are not left completely bare. In the absence of even dormant buds, they stop growing, dry out and die.
- During heavy threshing, the tree is not disturbed; even minor pruning is avoided. For spruce it coincides with the period of most active growth, which for different varieties and hybrids occurs at the end of April or May. The cuts made at this time take a very long time and are difficult to heal. If there are many of them, the tree weakens greatly.
It is easier to work with wet needles, regardless of what tool the gardener uses
Topping
Pinching is the most gentle method. The spruce is pinched for the first time a year after transplanting to a permanent place, simultaneously with the first sanitary pruning.
The technology is extremely simple - hold the desired shoot with the index finger and thumb of your non-working hand, and gently unscrew its tip with your working hand. After this, at least 2-3 growth buds should remain on the branch.
Pinching activates their awakening, the shoots begin to branch intensively. Accordingly, the crown of the spruce tree becomes more magnificent after such pruning.In addition, the active formation of lateral shoots inhibits the growth of the tree in height.
Pinching is carried out at the end of May or in the first ten days of June
Formative pruning of spruce
To form a spruce, you must first make a wire frame. They simply fix it on the tree trunk and remove all unnecessary things, making sure that the haircut is not too radical. The spruce may not survive the loss of more than a third of the green mass at one time.
Formative pruning is the only way to radically change the appearance of a tree; pinching will never give such a result
How to prune Norway spruce to make it fuller
Common (European) spruce is rarely subjected to radical pruning. Most often it is planted to form hedges or as a tapeworm, maintaining the symmetry and density of the crown.
In the first case, to stimulate branching, two years after planting in open ground, the top of the spruce is shortened by a third, all existing side shoots are shortened by half or 2/3 (depending on the growth rate). Pruning is carried out annually until the hedge reaches the desired height. In the future, you only need to maintain its shape by cutting off all branches that clearly extend beyond the intended contour to the sides and upwards.
The shoots of common spruce, depending on the favorable climate in the region, add 15-50 cm in length per season. Accordingly, its crown quickly becomes loose, often even tiered.
To prevent this, young growth on seedlings reaching a length of 5-15 cm is shortened by pinching, leaving a minimum of 2-3 and a maximum of 10 cm. It should be taken into account that the growth rate of the lower branches is noticeably lower than that of the upper ones. That is, the length of the remaining part of the shoot needs to be adjusted.
It is obvious that formative pruning of a Christmas tree is a labor-intensive and monotonous procedure.
Pruning spruce to form a crown in spring and autumn
From the photo it is easy to understand that the possibilities for decorative pruning of spruce trees are almost limitless. But it is extremely difficult to give the crown a fantasy configuration without special skills. Therefore, amateur gardeners most often limit themselves to simpler geometric shapes.
Conical shape
Trimming a Christmas tree in the shape of a cone requires observance of the proportion of its height to the diameter of the base - 3:2. You need to act according to the following algorithm:
- Install the wire frame as evenly as possible. This is the key to crown symmetry.
- Shorten the top of the spruce tree in such a place that a young sprout or growth bud remains next to the cut. The crown is cut off from the north side.
- Remove all side shoots that clearly extend beyond the wire frame. During the pruning process, spruce trees always move from top to bottom, making sure to maintain smooth lines. Otherwise, the cone will turn into a pyramid with flat edges.
- Ruffle the branches. Complete the trimming, correcting any minor flaws that appear after this, so that the shape is as regular and symmetrical as possible, and the contour is smooth.
It is not advisable to make the cone too high, the approximate figure is 1.5-2 m
Topiary haircut
Topiary cutting of spruce is aimed at creating a hedge or an unnatural crown configuration from trees.The first is much easier for an amateur gardener without special skills. The optimal time for the procedure is the first half of April (in the southern regions - the end of March).
The procedure is as follows:
- To form a pattern, stretch cords or wire along the planted trees or install a template.
- Trim tree tops to the required level, making flat cuts.
- Trim all side shoots along a given contour, shortening them by a third or half.
Ideally, within 3-4 years, the spruce trees in the hedge should completely close their crowns due to active lateral branching. The shape after such pruning turns out to be compact, so it will have to be adjusted several times during the season.
Spruce trees for hedges are planted at intervals of 0.6-1 m, pruning begins when they reach a height of 30-50 cm
Is it possible to trim a spruce tree to the shape of a ball?
Trimming spruce into a ball shape is a complex manipulation. It is problematic for a non-specialist to achieve the required smoothness of contours. However, no one forbids you to try.
The procedure follows the same algorithm as pruning a cone-shaped spruce tree. Here you will also need a wire frame. However, when forming a ball, it is much more difficult to make the lines smooth rather than broken.
You can practice on spruce at the age of 2-3 years, which has formed a fairly dense crown by pinching
Care after pruning
The more radical the pruning, the more careful care the spruce tree needs after it. It will help the tree recover faster from stress.
Necessary activities:
- Watering. They are carried out at intervals of 2.5-3 weeks.It is advisable to moisten the substrate at the same time as sprinkling the crown.
- Feeding. Once a month, foliar feeding is carried out with biostimulants or immunomodulators for plants. Both universal preparations and special ones (for conifers) are suitable.
- Mulching the tree trunk circle. Mulch prevents the soil from drying out by retaining moisture. The soil does not bake into an airtight crust, which is important for normal root development.
Conclusion
Trimming a spruce to make it fluffy or forming a crown of the desired basic configuration is, in principle, not difficult. However, the procedure will be painless for the tree only if you choose the right time, use the right tools and study the cutting technology in advance. It is equally important to provide the spruce tree, which has lost part of its green mass after pruning, with proper care.
