We have 14 blue spruce trees in our yard. Some of them have a double top. My husband thinks because the trees have a double top the trees are growing wider instead of taller. He wants to cut off the growth of the second top so that the tree will grow taller. I am not sure this is correct. Can someone provide directions for pruning these trees? Thanks.
depening on the height of this double top you may consider hiring a qualified arborist for an opinion and an estimate to do the job for you.
The height is reachable. Are you saying the double top should be pruned? If so, what would be the result of doing this?
not necessarily but it may be a good idea to restore apical dominance (leader). why are they double topped? what kind of blue spruce.. is it a hybrid typ elike fat albert or globe? they may not matter, if it is a tall growing one then correcting the twinned leader at this time may be a good idea.
I am not sure why they are double topped. It could be because I had to break off a couple of infested tops awhile back but I don't remember breaking off that many. I will consider pruning the trees in the fall when there is less stress. I just had to spray them because they were being decimated by caterpillars. I never had that happen before but the news is that caterpillars are so numerous this year that they have resorted to eating trees they normally dislike. I am am not sure what type the trees are but they look like they might be globe. Thanks for your input.
My Ortho book "All about Pruning" shows a good example of topping single-needle evergreens. It speaks of cutting for specificly (1) leader, shows where to cut that top single for bushier control and cutting back under a "Whorl" for size control. I'm not an expert by any means and am reluctant to try this on my one and only/favorite blue spruce because the top is shooting up-wards. Hope this help's.
