I have a young blue spruce (3-4 feet tall) purchased last fall that has sustained damage - split branches. I don't know the cause, and wondered what I should do. It is obvious the split is killing the branches (no new spring growth). My question is should I prune - and if so, where should the cut be? Or is there a means to "bandage" the wounds? Regrettably, the branches are next to each other and pruning will leave a gaping hole. What, if anything else can be done?
Yes, if discovered early enough, a damaged branch like that can be "bandaged". I had similar damage on a very small (young) pine earlier in the spring (I think it was caused either by a squirrel or an aggressive starling), but I simply pulled the broken branch back up to the trunk, and tied it in place with a tie-wrap, like you use for garbage bags, preventing it from sliding down, by tiying the back side of the loop just above a healthy branch. A couple months later (now), the branch is fine, with new growth proceeding almost as fast as the undamaged branches. I guess its really not much different from grafting, except that the fit is perfect.