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My Picea Pungens has lost side branches, can I help some regrow?

7 years ago

Hi, my beautiful Picea Pungens has lost about 5 of it's side branches just below the leader by being repeatedly hit by a football. Is there anything I can do that would encourage new side shoots to form? Thanks.

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Comments (7)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
7 years ago
Not really. If there are any viable buds that you can see on the branches you could prune back to them but that's about it. What was used for the other goalpost?

tj
Ealma Purcell
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Ha ha thanks, it's actually behind the goals and they keep flying the balls over the goals and hitting the poor tree, they were only small branches so are totally gone on that side which will ruin the shape as it continues to grow I presume. I thought I read something years ago where you could stimulate growth by making a cut in the wood or something, but I can't find that anywhere now and don't want to try anything without being sure! Thanks again!
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Thanks mike and hairmetal! I think I'll try that. Ken - I'm not exactly sure how to respond to your post, honestly I'm finding it a little condescending, but maybe that's just how it's reading across the internet as someone that doesn't know you. =) But in responds to your "strikes", firstly, I know trees do not thrive in pots (although as I've understood, technically it can be done with the right media/care/proper drainage, even if this would cause it to not grow to full size), as I said in my initial post I put it in there for the time being to see if it would even survive at all as we a: weren't sure where in the yard we would put a tree that would grow as big as it can and we wanted to figure out the best spot for it, and b: we didn't want to dig up the yard if it wasn't going to make it in the first place. Secondly, I'm not sure what gave the impression it's in a high peat media, it's actually not. It's in a homemade blend of mostly pine bark fines in which I added a bit extra perlite to in order to aid a little with the drainage. Thirdly, the particular pot it's in has extra holes drilled into it for added drainage as well, because I was aware that fast drainage was important even if this was just a temporary place for it. If it's useful to know the root flare is only about 2 inches below the surface (maybe that's another indicator that it's some kind of dwarf cultivar?), I planted it a little deeper than normal as it was very floppy/wilted when I got it and it helped it stay more structured, again figuring that if it survived I would be re-potting it into the yard at a normal level at that point anyways. Either way, I'm quite happy to keep it for as long as it's alive, but thanks for the suggestion that I just throw it out. =)
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you are welcome... lol there is a reason its called enabling.. not 'being helpful' ... double lol here is the answer.. note the annual growth rate on MD... it went crazy ... after this pic .... even w/o a scale... cant you see the approx 10 inch leader growth the prior spring.. and what.. 8 inch lateral???? that pic is 2009 .. i bet its easily twice as big.. today ... now look at DR ... what do you see.. 3 to 5 inch leader growth??? ... this is.. and always will be.. a squat little pungens ... so the equation seems pretty simple to me.. how much space do you have... today.. and in 10 years ... ken ps: i am sad to see colby in the pic .. he is gone... and this must be one of the first pix i posted since he left us a year back or so ... and God help me.. i bet he is in half my thousands of pix... lol .. wonder how he missed the other pix... lol
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Ken, the post was called "Picea abies and pungens planting and care". I don't know how to link from one post to the other. Sigh. Thanks for the great pics Jaro!!! What a wonderful garden you have! And I adore your dwarf mugo pines. Yes I can see them between the rocks just fine. They are so sweet, aren't they? I don't believe I can grow the mugo pines here in zone 4, or 5 with the new zoning, can I? All of your plantings are beautiful. Oh, I have two semps in my garden also, along with the hens and chick ones. I love anything tiny. OH...wanted to say also that you have the most awsome rocks!!!! I really do love rocks as much as plants. YOurs I am so envious of! My rock garden is so small compared to what yours must be. Only about 9 feet by 7 feet. And surrounded by the rocks, not like yours. I do like yours better actually. We just bought our house last September, so have a lot to do in our yards. Anyhow, thanks again for sharing your garden pics. I really enjoyed looking at them. Liz...who also loves the gallery here! Such eye candy!!!
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If you let the bottom part of the stump regrow it has got the roots so it will be stable ...the other parts of the stump you can make into a hedge if you just leave them on the ground some will sprout and others won't. Either way its good mulch if the tree isn't diseased. Otherwise just use the stumps or compost them and only let the base with the roots regrow. You can wax the top of the stump with beeswax to seal the open wound and stop it rotten and getting diseased. we have an apple tree that grew back like that and ive got horse chestnuts growing that way. You can also employ a proper arbour maintenance guy to cut your trees into shapes that are less likely to get ripped up in a storm hey take a lot of the longer branches and shorten them so you get new flimsy growth which the wind can't break as easily and they look nice after a few years and if it is properly done. They do third in Europe a lot and it looks great. Here in Ireland a lot of people with an electric saw think they can do work with trees and really they have not a clue. So be careful to find a guy and see his work. Sometimes they cut them so ugly but when cut right it make a them a lot safer and still looks nice. Bit like a lollipop lol! But better than having no trees at all. You can also plant other trees around large trees to create wind break... Trees like poplar are good for that and birch they break the wind up and divert it before the fall force hits the big tree. Its not bad for buildings to have some wind break too. Might not make much difference during a hurricane though. If its a big oak its probably been there longer than you and birds may have lived there for generations ...trees are an amazing asset and take so long to mature that I'd do everything I could to protect them and help them endure safely before cutting them down. They do so much good. And you might find problems if you fell a lpt of them... Landsliding away flooding in paddocks and other things which the trees have been preventing for years.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
might get more opinion with a pic.. ken ..
wisconsitom
7 years ago
That would have been about something other than spruce. Pine-family members-this is one such member-typically don't rebranch like that. Now for an interesting side note: In this town, more than once, I've seen where somebody limbed up a Colorado spruce. I'm talking way up. And in those cases, new branches did appear. That's a bit out of the norm but it can happen. But there's nothing for you to do to encourage this. Don't listen to anyone telling you to cut the top of the tree, whatever you do.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
i have seen them butchered for power lines ... and was surprised to see some new branchlets also ... but they never recover to look like that xmas tree shape i presume you want ...

i dont understand toms wording above.. this is a spruce.. not the pine family ...????

without a pic.. i suspect that you are going to have to wait until the boys are gone.. before you use this spot ... for this kind of plant ... btw.. are you talking soccer.. or football .... not that it really matters.. where are you?

ken
wisconsitom
7 years ago
I might have garbled some words there Ken....just saying, spruce is a pine-family member. And that most such pine-family members don't do much re-branching along the trunk. Exceptions note, like what you report, and what I did. But it's an odd occurrence, not the norm.
Ealma Purcell
Original Author
7 years ago
We're in Ireland and they're playing gaelic football, a goal is worth 3 points, but if you get it between the posts higher than the goalmouth it's worth a point...it's the least worst spot in the garden as it's all planted up...there are a few berberis' which can take the abuse and another few thorny guys, but my poor blue fella is there as well! I'll try and get a photo up, don't have a smart phone so will involve a camera and leads etc.

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