Trimming bottom branches of blue spruce plays an essential role in promoting the development and lifecycle of evergreens.
People should follow precise instructions about blue spruce trimming to raise the growing efficiency of this evergreen and save as much money as possible.
Reasons For Trimming Bottom Branches Of Blue Spruce
There are many possible reasons why people should try trimming the bottom branches of blue spruce.
Like pepper leaves, blue spruce leaves also have tiny black spots when spoiled from the external environment.
This requires the pruner to remove these decaying leaves to bring an attractive shape and neater appearance to the blue spruce.
Pruning blue spruce trees can be considered one way to restrict disease development from one branch to another.
This means that people should remove all the competing, broken, insect-infested, or dead branches to get better growth for the blue spruce.
People can easily apply mulch on the blue spruce tree and reach underneath it because there is more space and only a few bottom branches.
The mulch used to cover the blue spruce tree is considered a protection defense from the strong impact of the external environment.
Once trimming a blue spruce, people always prepare everything, including pruning shears, pole pruners, and work/gardening gloves.
These tools can help people to increase safety at the maximum level in any situation.
In addition, everyone should also trim the bottom branches of blue spruce reasonably, limiting the risk of killing the tree due to excessive cutting.
How To Trim Blue Spruce
- Prepare one-hand-operated pruning shears, pruning tools, sharp shears, work/gardening gloves, and pole pruners as safety tools when to prune blue spruce.
- Begin to examine the total of blue spruce green to identify all the competing, diseased, broken, dead, or insect-infested branches exactly. Choosing the right time to shape and prune also ensures the best development of this kind of tree.
- Remove an extension above ⅓ of the trunk’s diameter to restrict the risk of competing with the trunk and negatively affecting this tree’s life cycle.
- Use sharp pruning shears to remove the determined branches while wearing safety gloves. Cut diseased and dead branches lying close to the trunk, where the trunk and branch connect. Continuously prune smashed branches at the break position, and prune insect-infested branches close to the trunk tree.
- Use pruning shears or pole pruners to remove diseased and dead branches bearing down. Consider thinning the canopy from the blue spruce to eliminate the risk of infectious problems, combined with effective fungicide treatment for a long time. Use proper insecticide, especially the trees that are susceptible to pests, then cut the diseased branches through the health points on the trees.
- Remove all lower and oldest branches immediately, ensuring natural bluish-green colors and natural shapes for the entire tree.
- Do not prune or trim more than ¼ of the total crown in one season; it should be shaped according to the natural taper of the tree.
- Cut the branches at optimal lengths, which helps to build the tapered shape successfully. Always create space between branches, then remove them in thick sections so that they can match the spacing designed.
- Utilize pruning cuts when completing the cuts closer to the tree trunk since they can create more pleasing shapes compared to the other kinds of cuts.
How To Wrap The Blue Spruce Up When To Prune Blue Spruce
After trimming the bottom branches of blue spruce, people must know how to protect and maintain the growth of the blue spruce best.
This can bring a perfect appearance for this kind of evergreen in the winter and Christmas seasons.
Wrapping the positions that people have just trimmed the branches of blue spruce with special liquid and tools.
This method helps to restrict the expansion of insect-infested issues and keep the health of blue spruce in good status over time.
Please choose products relating to the trimming and wrapping process from well-known brands to ensure better safety.
Which Is The Best Time To Trim Blue Spruce?
There is almost no difference in the suitable time for trimming popular evergreen trees or low-temperature-preferred plants, including Hong Kong orchid trees and blue spruce trees.
Particularly, the best time to conduct this activity in gardening is during the end of the year (the late winter) or early spring months.
The blue spruce branches will take a long enough time to grow and change their appearance for the new year.
Basic Knowledge About Blue Spruce Trees
People should get some basic knowledge about blue spruce trees to ensure the process of caring for and maintaining the health of spruce trees. Comprising:
Standard Conditions To Plant Blue Spruce Trees
Planting blue spruce trees can develop best when they receive full sun exposure, not too little but not too much.
People completely modify the level of growth of blue spruce trees by selecting a planting location suitably.
The gardeners not only concentrate on the sun and care for well-draining soil and semi-moist. This forces people to water regularly and fill the ground with large organic matter or proper nutrition.
Moreover, blue spruce trees can adapt to drier soil or wind if people conduct one effective planting and watering plan, matching the local condition.
The Cycle Of Blue Spruce Trees
Blue spruce trees averagely grow up from 12 inches to 24 inches annually and have gained the most popularity with medium sizes all over the world.
The development speed of blue spruce trees is relatively quick compared to the other kinds of evergreen trees.
If people aim to use blue spruce trees to decorate, people tend to keep blue spruce small or medium-sized.
These sizes can bring convenience for people during shaping or designing products relating to this kind of tree.
Characteristics Of Blue Spruce Tree Roots
Blue spruce trees own wide and shallow root systems, which is good for fertilizing and watering.
According to scientific research, the root system of blue spruce trees only penetrates the ground approximately 2.5 inches during the first year of development.
This forces the gardeners to be careful when caring for this kind of tree, restricting damage to the root system too much.
How To Maintain The Shape After Trimming A Blue Spruce
The blue spruce trees work well; however, to serve the decoration aim, they should be shaped from the first months of growth.
People must see how the tree grows, determine the considerable height people want, and choose the suitable position for trimming bottom branches of blue spruce.
After being shaped, people should learn how to maintain these shapes over time.
Most blue spruce trees have a tapered top; therefore, try keeping them to grow at this point, then supporting them to develop in a perfectly conical shape completely.
Taking Care Of Baby Blue Spruces When To Trim A Blue Spruce
Raising blue spruce from the seedling to the adult stage can be challenging for all gardeners.
Ignoring sunlight errors, weather damage, nutrient deficiencies, and pest damage are considered a terrible nightmare, which can negatively impact total growth, especially baby blue spruces.
Baby blue spruce trees should be watered regularly or whenever the soil seems so dry.
People also choose a location with enough sunlight and have some reasonable modifications according to the growth stage.
Remember to spruce off with rich soil for blue spruces, including fertilizer, compost, or healthy nutrition.
Weather effects can be a big obstacle for all blue spruces, especially baby ones. People must be wary of weather phenomena such as lightning, harsh rain, windstorms, and snowstorms.
These weather events can lose needles, snap branches, or even change the tree’s shape completely. Recommend shaping a semi-covered and stable tree to ensure safety at the maximum level.
FAQs
Do You Have To Prepare Plans And Tools For Trim A Blue Spruce?
Definitely yes. Preparing a detailed plan about how to trim a blue spruce and specific tools relating to this activity is essential.
This increases the level of safety for the gardeners and saves time or money in caring for this kind of tree.
Is A Blue Spruce Damaged When Trimming Bottom Branches Of Blue Spruce?
If people trim the bottom branches of blue spruce properly, there is no strong impact on the growth cycle.
By contrast, when pruning the branches too much, the nutrition-carrying internal process can be interrupted, restricting the healthy operation of blue spruce.
Can I Keep A Blue Spruce Tree Larger By Trimming?
Trimming branches for the blue spruces can be one common way to increase the size of the trees.
People should remember that the growth average for this kind of tree ranges from 12 inches to 24 inches. People seek a way to improve the height of the blue spruces in this limit.
Conclusion
Trimming bottom branches of blue spruce requires the gardeners to have a lot of relevant knowledge, which can ensure the growth of trees best.
Follow more tips about the growing activities on this website and adapt them during gardening, especially types of evergreens.
I just trimmed bottom 1/3 of a 6’ blue spruce with pruning shears. Cuts are about 1/2” from trunk. What should I apply to the cuts?
Congrats Danielian,
How about your cut things? Are they still Okay after pruning? I hope that you are doing well.
About your question, I think it is no need to apply anything to the cuts. Because the blue spruce naturally seal off the pruning wounds for a few weeks.