8 ft col. blue spruce lost leader

15 years ago

Hi,

I planted a row of Colorado Blue Spruce along the north edge of my property to form an evergreen screen. Finally, they are starting to screen the busy street -- but one of the trees had its leader severely broken about 2 years ago in a snow storm. I did not notice for a long time ... last winter I finally got up on a ladder and pruned out the broken and dead leader. I have read about training a new one, and also followed a thread on this form suggesting that a different type of spruce, a younger one, would reform its own leader.

A landscaper said take it out and replace it -- but I have waited about 6 years for this tree to fill in and screen, and it's finally happening! Apart from the leader, it does look healthy.

Should I just let this thing go and try to form a new leader on its o;wn? Should I intervene?

Thanks,

Shadey

Featured Answer

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

15 years ago

i have dozens of picea pungens.. all with multiple leaders ... my hands bleed every spring from all the pruning out i have to do .. ok.. that is drama ..

i blame the robins .. after spring extension ... the idiots .. seems to be a recurrent theme on this post.. HAVE TO land on the highest perch ... thereby destroying the new leader bud for the following year ... so multiple leaders buds develop ...

and i wait until i am sure i pick a good one.. and remove the excess ... i am always sure i will cut off the only viable one ... so i always hesitate.. until i am sure ... you can always cut them off later.. its really hard to staple them back on ....

pshaw on birds ... lol

ken

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Comments (11)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
the landscaper is an idiot ... and only interested in selling you a new tree ... most likely at quite a mark up

ALL .. otherwise healthy trees ... conifers.. will re-establish a leader ... period.. paragraph ...

lets see how it buds out this spring ... maybe even two springs... and then decide which leader that IT THROWS up .. will be the one to keep.. and remove others..

no real hurry with plants that can live a hundred years ... let it sort itself out ...

mother nature.. is very adept at fixing her own problems ... let this tree do it ...

a picture would really help ..

ken
katskan41
15 years ago
Shadey,

I'd leave the tree in place and see what happens. Over the years I've had many different conifers, including Colorado spruce, lose their leaders due to various problems (storm damage, hungry deer, etc.) Typically the trees will regrow a new leader, or sometimes multiple leaders, if left alone.

Might take a few years to get a good leader established but if the tree is healthy it will happen eventually.

Replacing an 8ft tree would be costly and also take at least a year or two for the new tree to become established.

HTH,

Dave
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Thanks for you comments. I really appreciate it. It is really hard for me to visualize what the landscaping will look like in 10 years. I usually buy perennials that I like, and then find a place to put them, moving them if needed. The spruces were mature trees, and last winter we noticed all three losing needles in huge sections. I was hoping it was seasonal, but they continued losing needles until one side was almost bare, and then the front started losing needles from the bottom up. I assumed that it was either the drought we had the previous year, or perhaps just old age. I didn't notice any obvious bugs or disease. I would love to put in some rhodies, but I don't think they'd like the hot sun all afternoon. I will have to look and see if there are some which kinda like the sun. I'll look into the shrub roses as well, although I'm not sure what they'd look like in the winter. I'll also look into andromedas as well. I'm thinking, if I have enough room, maybe I need to have 2 rows of shrubs, one sun loving facing the road and evergreen, and then one shade loving facing the house. Annie
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Wait a minute folks! Sorry I am late to this party, but I want to have a shot at this. First, however, I need to know how tall and how old this spruce is, and what the diameter was were the topping cut was made. If the tree is reasonably young, and/or if where the top was cut off the diameter was not more than about 5 inches, I would say there is every chance this spruce will be just fine. There may be a good chance it will be fine anyway. One thing I have learned with my years of working with spruces, mostly Norway, which in its reaction to topping is very similar to blue spruce, is that hasty and strong interventions are seldom good. I see no harm being done in waiting two years before trying corrective action. In fact, more time may be needed. Anyway, if you can answer my questions, I can give further suggestions about what to do, if anything, to help this tree. --Spruce
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spruceman
15 years ago
Shadey:

Ken and Dave are giving you excellent advice. We get a lot of questions from people worried about this or that little injury to a little tree, and almost all the time no human intervention is needed, and most often the intervention people want to try will only harm the tree.

The only danger here is that the tree will form a double leader, but this happens a relatively small percentage of the time. And, what at first may look like a double leader forming, usually isn't.

You need to give the tree some time--at least 3 years, and depending on how fast the tree is growing, probably longer.

But, if after about 3 or 4 years, or after the tree has grown about 4 feet or so and you have two leaders of equal length with the tips close together, then cut one off. But if you have what looks like a double leader, but one side is growing at an angle away from the other, which is more erect, do nothing, or at least wait another year or two to be sure you really have a double leader. Usually one side of what seems like a double leader will begin growing away from the other and will become a side branch.

Also, double leaders on open grown spruce are not always a problem and do not split apart. The branches growing from the base of each leader will cross the other, and graft to it, making a strong joining between the two that is very resistant to breakage.

But having said that, a single leader is preferable, if only for aesthetic reasons. But I know of a number of spruce trees growing in the open with double leaders/trunks, and to me they are beautiful. Double leaders/trunks in forst grown spruce are a big problem--they will usually split apart sooner or later.

--Spruce
carterobrien
15 years ago
funny to see this popping up, my hoopsiis are once again doing their best to get crowded at the top, I trimmed down one that had lost its leader a few years ago, and the new "leader" didn't produce a leader but rather several competing leaders. so I'm thinking I will try one last time, both as I don't really care all that much either way, and also as they are now pretty danged big and even with a ladder this will the last time I can reach the tops!
carterobrien
15 years ago
geddoudaheah! that was my sneaking suspicion, but I figured I was just really losing my marbles looking for a scapegoat!
chester_grant
15 years ago
If this subject tree lost a leader two years ago it should have adjusted to a new leader by now. Perhaps it was two years but only one spring growth? What might have been a good idea, rather than prune the broken leader out - would have been to use that as a "splint" for the best positioned sidebranch to be tied to in order to give the new leader a "heads-up".
carterobrien
14 years ago
anyhoo, here is the result of trimming down a leader on the hoopsii on the left a few years ago (07, I think) - I'll try one more time, then I leave it to Mother Nature!

{{gwi:682059}}
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Decorative Philosophy
8 years ago
We have a blue spruce that has a 10" long leader which is out of proportion to the crown of the tree. Should we trim it and if so, how much?

Thanks.
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
8 years ago
Deco Philo- It would be best to start your own thread with a pic or two rather than add to a 6 year old thread.

tj
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
and add a pic of your tree

ken

8 ft col. blue spruce lost leader

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Comments (11)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

katskan41

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