The plant species of spruce is not only a popular source of wood, there are also different species to be found in the garden. With the right cut, even a bonsai can be grown from it. However, the spruce resents radical pruning measures.

Diseased or dead plant parts should be cut away

Does the spruce have to be trimmed regularly?

A spruce does not have to be pruned regularly, too much pruning can even damage it considerably and permanently affect its growth or shape. Nevertheless, individual cuts can sometimes be useful and also necessary.

Sometimes young spruces form two tips instead of one. Then you should cut one of them off at the base. The sooner you do this, the greater the likelihood that the cut will go unnoticed later. You decide which of the two tips you remove based on the look. Leave the prettier, bolder, or straighter of the two.

How can I prune the spruce?

Never cut into the old wood of a spruce for no reason. New buds form only on the needled shoots. Also, never cut the lead drive. Even if side shoots then grow upright, there is always a gap and the spruce is disfigured.

If you want to prun the spruce (remove the lower branches and twigs), then late winter is the best time to do so. Pruning is necessary in the timber industry, but not in your own yard. However, a spruce becomes quite wide in the lower area with increasing age, then pruning may be necessary for reasons of space.

Can I prune my sugarloaf spruce?

In contrast to the common spruce (red spruce, bot. Picea abies), a sugar loaf spruce grows only slowly, but very nicely conically. Pruning is more harmful than beneficial. If she is circumcised, the cut often leaves unsightly bald spots. However, if wild shoots form at the base, cut them off.

The essentials in brief:

  • when forming two peaks, remove one
  • never cut the main drive
  • don't cut into old wood
  • Prune or remove lower branches in late winter if necessary

tips

A spruce should at best be pruned carefully, but ideally not pruned at all.

Category:

Trees