The sugar loaf spruce develops its perfectly shaped silhouette with a densely branched needle dress without pruning. Like all conifers, the elegant cultivated form has a pronounced aversion to pruning. If you still see a need for a cut, important premises must be observed. Read this guide on how to properly prune a Picea glauca 'Conica'.
A sugar loaf spruce gets its beautiful shape all by itself
Cutting in the needled area
Buds capable of sprouting are scarce in conifers such as spruce, fir and pine. Only in the needled area of their shoots do conifers have active vegetation points that sprout after a cut. This premise also applies to the sugar loaf spruce. This is how you skilfully proceed when cutting:
- Cutting measures are limited to the green needle dress
- Bend the affected shoot to the side before cutting to check the needled sector
- Set scissors above green needles
If you get into the brown shoot area with the cutting tool, you will struggle with an annoying gap for a long time. Unlike many deciduous trees, the sugar loaf spruce does not have an iron reserve in the form of dormant eyes. Neighboring branches will only close the gloomy hole in the green needle dress over the years.
Planting distance prevents the need for pruning
Brown shoot tips are one of the most common reasons for pruning a sugar loaf spruce. You can effectively prevent this tricky undertaking if you allocate a generous amount of space to the shapely coniferous tree.
If the branches hit obstacles of any kind, needles die at the points of contact and turn brown. In the worst case, there are unmistakable gaps that only grow very slowly. Please adjust the planting distance to fences, house walls and neighboring plants to the expected growth width of up to 200 centimeters.
Open up in late winter
As a standard with a sugar loaf crown, 'Conica' steals the show from other ornamental trees. The creative training variant tolerates a sugar loaf spruce particularly well because the evergreen needles are not included when pruning. This is how you prune the conifer correctly:
- The best time is in late winter when the weather is frost-free
- Remove side branches below the desired base of the crown
- Saw off each shoot on a ring
Smooth any cuts with a sharp, clean knife. From a diameter of two centimeters, coat the edges of the wound with tree wax (€12.96) to protect the cambium wood there from late frost.
tips
Cutting conifers leaves tons of tiny clippings on the ground. Sweeping up costs more time than the actual cut. You can avoid this annoyance with a simple precaution. Before you cut sugar loaf spruce, thuja or yew, cover the tree pit with foil or old blankets.