Ed Harvey
Lincoln, Nebraska
Foreman
Posts:167
Send Message
 | | 05/17/2008 6:38 PM |
| I planted some dwarf Alberta spruce trees last year. They are starting to grow and fill in and I'd like to trim the lower limbs to make them look less conical and more pine tree like. When is the proper time to trim them so they won't die? How do you do it - just snip the lower limbs - or is there some other proper technique?
Thanks for any suggestions you might have!
Ed | |
Ed Harvey & Carol Rogers
Lincoln, Nebraska
http://www.snr.unl.edu/harvey/railroad.htm | |
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Semper Vaporo
1st Class Member
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Engineer
Posts:1254
Send Message
| | 05/17/2008 6:41 PM |
| | Last time I trimed one it was with a lawnmower... it was small and I forgot where it was in the weeds. | |
 C. T. McCullough
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
SA #37469
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Jerry Barnes
1st Class Member
Lexington, NE
Conductor
Posts:989
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| | 05/17/2008 7:14 PM |
| I do mine about anytime, does not seem to make a lot of difference.
Jerry | |
Life is too short to take seriously. | |
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NTCGRR
1st Class Member
Nebraska City NE
Conductor
Posts:840
Send Message
| | 05/17/2008 7:36 PM |
| | I do mine at the end of July into Aug AFTER they stop budding for the year. Once a year | |
 Marty Cozad
North Table Creek GRR
Nebraska City, NE
Is it "REAL" or just 1:29 th | |
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bearswood
1st Class Member
Indiana
Brakeman
Posts:14
Send Message
| | 05/17/2008 8:13 PM |
| When you trim the spruce trees you should use a bonsai cutting tool. It cuts at the correct angle allowing the area to heal properly. Cut as close as possible to the trunk or the main limb.
George from northern Indiana | | | |
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Steamnutt
Cecil County, MD
Brakeman
Posts:38
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| | 05/18/2008 7:34 PM |
| | Limbing up can be done just about any time. Unlike shearing or shaping the outer or top growth, you are looking to raise up the lower branches. You won't hurt your trees, but I would use a pair of sharp pruning shears. | | | |
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Torby
1st Class Member
North Chicago 'burbs.
Engineer
Posts:1695
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| | 05/19/2008 7:07 AM |
| The horticulturalists pruned some in the botanic to look more like redwoods this spring. They seem to know what they're doing | |
 "If Christianity was something we were making up, of course we could make it easier. But it is not. We cannot compete, in simplicity with people who are inventing religions. How could we? We are dealing with Fact. Of course anyone can be simple if he has no facts to bother about."-- C. S. Lewis | |
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Mik
Indiana, Pa
Foreman
Posts:346
Send Message
| | 05/21/2008 8:46 PM |
| | I took out about every other or third branch on mine. It made them look more like mature full sized trees for a couple years. My ex has let them grow out since and they look kind of goofy now | |
Mik
Unsupervised children will be given espresso and a free puppy | |
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SteveF
Deer Park, WA
Brakeman
Posts:22
Send Message
| | 05/22/2008 10:54 PM |
| Don't forget to save the cuttings to use as starters for new trees.
Just remove the bottom two or three branches from the new cutting, then crush the bottom of the new trunk with pliers, dip the crushed end in vitamin B root growth encourager, and stick it in potting soil.
You might cover the new tree with plastic, keeping it out of direct sun so it won't burn. The plastic will keep the humidity up, encouraging your new tree.
After 10 - 14 days, you should have new roots growing from where the buds of the branches you cut off are. You can test for this by gently pulling on the new tree. If it resists being pulled out of the soil, you have new root growth, and a new tree.
From there, you just need to encourage root growth for the next few months, and then plant in the fall, 6 weeks before first frost, so the tree can become accustomed to its new home. | |
When it is time to go railroading, mankind went railroading. L. Long, ca 2342
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