Cutting sugar loaf spruce - how can it be done?

Cutting sugar loaf spruce - how can it be done?

Cutting in the needled area

Buds capable of sprouting are in short supply 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 sugar loaf spruce. This is how you proceed skilfully when cutting:

  • Cutting measures are limited to the green needle dress
  • Bend the relevant shoot to the side before cutting to control the needled sector
  • Position the scissors above the green needles

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If you get into the brown area of ​​the shoot with the cutting tool, you will struggle with an annoying gap for a long time. In contrast to many deciduous trees, the sugar loaf spruce does not have an iron reserve in the form of sleeping eyes. Only in the course of the years will neighboring branches close the gloomy hole in the green needle dress.

Plant spacing prevents the need for cutting

Brown shoot tips are one of the most common reasons for pruning a sugarloaf spruce. You can effectively prevent this delicate undertaking if you allocate a generous amount of space to the shapely conifer.

If the branches hit obstacles of any kind, needles die at the points of contact and turn brown. In the worst case, unmistakable gaps arise 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.

Fastening in late winter

As a high trunk with a sugar loaf crown, 'Conica' steals the show from other ornamental trees. The creative upbringing variant tolerates a sugar loaf spruce particularly well because the evergreen needle dress is not included when cutting. How to ate the conifer correctly:

  • The best time is in late winter when the weather is frost-free
  • Remove side branches below the desired crown base
  • Saw off every shoot on astring

Smooth any cut with a sharp, clean knife. From a diameter of two centimeters, coat the wound edges with tree wax (5.99 € on Amazon *) to protect the cambium wood located there from late frost.

Tips

Pruning conifers leaves tons of tiny clippings on the ground. Sweeping up takes more time than the actual cut. There are simple precautions you can take to avoid this nuisance. Before you cut sugar loaf spruce, thuja or yew, cover the tree slice extensively with foil or old blankets.