Will a spruce tree re-leader after root damage?
I have enough pictures to show this so thought it might be helpful to someone questioning this.
This was a 5 ft spruce I brought into the yard from the woods, a year ago last April. Looked nice and I thought I had done a good job of digging.
Summer came and the tree put out nice grow for a transplant but I noticed the tree didn't put out much of a leader. But it was a woods tree and there was brush and other tree roots I had to deal with, so I must have chopped something that caused the tree to make a very short leader last year.
No big deal I figured, there are some winter branch buds surrounding it so next spring it will put another bud out the top of the short leader and away we'll go with a nice new leader.
Well, that didn't exactly happen! I ended up having to move the tree to another part of the yard.
The short little leader looked almost dead in the spring, with no leader bud and the branch buds around it looked to be mostly dead. Around May I was looking at it and could see one of the branch buds expanding, couldn't be sure what was happening because when I looked at it later in the spring it was laying almost flat, as you would expect from a branch.
I thought oh well, might have to wait another year. :-|
Today I was looking at the same tree and wow, that flat branch has straightened up and has assumed the role of main leader! Forming winter buds with a main leader winter bud too! I was surprised but have seen other white spruce that have the main leader almost flat or curled early in the summer season and stand up by fall to be perfectly straight.
So it's all down hill from here, I think. Most of the branches from this highly abused tree have formed winter buds even though some of them had only a small amount of new growth this summer.
[Here is another thread about this tree and it's late August ordeal.[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/honey-the-shed-is-in-the-wrong-place-or-august-transplanting-dsvw-vd~4793755)
Comments (11)
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5 years agoRelated Discussions
Question re: Repairing winter tree damage +propagation
Comments (8)I'm going to disagree with Bill :-) The simple answer to your questions is 1) NO and 2) MAYBE. There is a very narrow timeframe involved (i.e., 24 hours) in being able to successfully repair a broken branch before the tree begins the process of compartmentalization and sealing off the wound. And I've never heard of this done with branches that have 'popped out of the socket' or have been severed completely. These appear to be very clean breaks, well within the branch collar, and should heal up/calluse nicely on their own. You certainly do not want to paint with tar or any other wound sealant - it is unnecessary and not advised. Wrapping the tree is not necessary either, although you may want to make sure you are attentive during any further snowfalls this winter. PNW snow tends to be very wet and very heavy and conifers in particular are easily damaged by the weight. Make sure there are no other heavy accumulations on these and any other evergreen trees or shrubs. As to the success of growing conifers from cuttings, it is widely done and very common. Most of the named cultivars of conifers are propagated from cuttings. Hardwood cuttings taken in winter are perhaps not ideal for this purpose, but it certainly won't hurt to try, especially since you have a greenhouse at your disposal. Here is a link that might be useful: conifers from cuttings...See More8 ft col. blue spruce lost leader
Comments (11)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...See MoreCrazy leader on Bizon Blue Spruce
Comments (2)put down the pruners.. and step away ... let talk about it all .... in say ... 3 to 5 years ... for a tree that can live 30 to 50 to 70 years... you are way to antsy to go after it ... BTW.. the leader.. is the one sitting at the top .. pointing straight up .. and its 4 or 5 leaning brothers ... its about 8 inches long .... you are talking about decapitating LAST YEARS LEADER ... and as far as i am concerned.. the answer is almost always... NO ... i suspect that in the 3 years or so.. the plant will figure it all out... and it.. and you ... will be very happy ... good luck ken ps:.. can you step a bit further away from those shears .......See MoreBaby Blue Colorado Spruce Dying from Top of Leader
Comments (7)Rough handling before it was planted can cause that. By that, I mean putting stress on the trunk by carrying it wrong or bending it by lifting it up so the weight of the rootball bends the trunk. That limits the amount of fluid getting up the trunk. The top is the first to go, just like it was in a drought. I would say there are no insect problems and it will probably recover over time. As to when the injury occurred, who knows? Maybe before you got it, or after. Mike.....02$...See MoreUser
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5