I have a blue spruce in an area where I am now happy with size. About 18 feet high, perfect width. The shape is very good, but some branches starting to shoot our and loose its nice shape. Also starting to touch house. I would like to lightly prune some of the branches that are sticking out to keep a christmas tree look. How far can I cut back? Will this effect overall growth? I have heard not to top them because this will kill tree..is this true? Or can I take a small cut at the top (12")? to slow growth? I am here in Delaware on the East coast in the middle of the winter so I assume it is a good time to some pruning on the B. Spruce Any help would be appreciated. Best to all!
Shear new growth part of the way back to where it started at end of previous year's growth each spring-early summer. This will slow it's expansion, but not prevent it from eventually growing too large. You can't do anything about that, spruces do not resprout from old, bare wood.
Thank you Ron. Do you have any knowledge about cutting the top main growth? And can I prune in the middle of the winter?
I don't think now would kill it, but later would be preferable. Pruning now you would be cutting last year's growth. You can cut the lead as well as the rest, but remember you cannot stop the tree from getting bigger this way, and it will give it a prim appearance (crisp, symmetric outline).
What about pruning up from the bottom of the tree to make a stick tree? My neighbor has done this on our lot line and now I want to restore the privacy by selecting plants to put under/in front of this line of 10 trees. Ideas on what I could use? It is a northeast exposure.
