Will these spruce trees recover as they grow up?
Hi,
I found these spruce trees growing in the woodsy part of the lot but it looks like some are missing lower branches and some are missing large chunks of missing branches. I red that trees grow from the top so wondering if the damage will be contained to where it is now with the tree continuing to grow from the top, or will the dead/missing areas rise up proportionally. we’re lookint to plant some evergreen trees for screeninf in a sunnier part of our lot and not sure if its worth transplanting these or buying new trees. Thanks!
Comments (9)
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Comments (17)I would like to understand what I need to do to promote the trunk to grow thicker and how to promote foliage growth in the canopy. You know the plant's vitality level is on the poor side or you wouldn't be asking after it, and that's why the canopy is sparse and the trunk thin. Unless it has a pest problem, all it really needs is some modifications of the cultural influences (light, temp, soil/ air/ water relations, fertility, air movement, so the influences are as close as possible to the plant's sweet spot. The best thing you could do for the plant is move it outdoors as soon as or whenever temperatures allow. Nights reliably above 55* for full time and any time temps are above 60-65*. I'm not sure what type of medium it's in, but it should drain freely and the medium should hold very little excess water. Excess water is water that fills the pores between soil particles toward the bottom of the pot, which limits the roots' oxygen supply and sets the stage for fungal root infections. The pot it's in now will tip easily, so I would opt for a larger pot and use some bricks in the bottom as ballast, which will also reduce the amount of excess water the medium can/will hold. I would plan a repot as soon as the timing is appropriate, during which I would correct all root issues and reestablish the plant in a high quality grow medium to replace the medium it's in now. At the same time you repot, I would prune the top 1/3 - 1/2 of the canopy back hard, cutting the visually heavy (thick) branches at the top back severely and not doing much with the bottom 1/2 - 2/3 of the tree in terms of pruning until later in the summer when the tree has recovered from the root work. Fertilizing regularly with a quality soluble synthetic fertilizer like Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is the best bet. That's what I use and you won't likely find better for the 95% plus of your containerized plants which will respond to it enthusiastically. That's a rough outline. Let me know if you want more specific info in select areas or have questions; or, if you want to see images of some of the work I do on my own figs. Plants that grow with little enthusiasm are very close to the break-even point in terms of the amount of energy (food) they create from the sun's energy as opposed to the amount of energy consumed during respiration. To accomplish your goals, your focus should be on making it easier for the plant to deal with the cultural hand you're dealing. Since the plant can't change it's needs, it's up to the grower to make the adjustments. If a grower was given a grade, the whole of his/her efforts on which (s)he would be judged, would be no more than the effectiveness with which limiting factors are ferreted out and the degree to which they're mollified. That's the view from here, YMMV. Al...See MoreI think I messed up bad. Limbed up a spruce.
Comments (11)how to plant...: https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub i figured it was a builder deal ... based on looking seep into the pic .. as to my pic ... i had a kids pool to the left.. i wnated to sit under the tree.. in the shade ... hence the pruning ... its now about 10 years later. ... and the bottom branches.. are about 3 feet from the ground.. the major part of the branches did not go down.. but the branchlets off such.. did .. the bottom line.. how i remember it... roots like to be cool and moist.. to do their job... bark is meant to be DRY ... by putting park underground.. you will rot it ... and the vascular system of the tree... the cambian layer.. is just below that bark ... rot the bark ... kill the tree ... dig down.. give us a few pics... maybe we can come up with some ideas ... like an wall of one or two or 3 retaining blocks.... to hold the soil back ... there has to be a term for that.. but its escaping me.. to google you a pic ... ken...See MoreClematis to grow up a tree?
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BillMN-z-2-3-4
11 months agolast modified: 11 months agoIf you decide to do if, find the smallest trees, like 16" to 20" tall max. These will be more likely to fill out over time, especially if they have full sun and good distribution of green branches on them.
Smaller trees will also be a lot less work and will establish much easier and faster that larger specimens will.
In the center and to the right in the picture below are two picea glauca (white spruce) that I dug from the woods in 2015. In this picture (2016) they had been in a year already. Less than two feet tall at planting time: You can see the one in the center is pretty scraggly.
Next picture is from last summer (Aug 2022), same trees, different angle: The one in the center is the scraggly one from the previous picture. The one on the right is the same from previous pic.
Don't worry too much about missing lower branches on a smaller spruce. Branches a foot or so from the ground will still be a foot or so off the ground when the tree is 10 ft. tall and they will expand and send some shoots towards the ground (in full sun) and as you can see in the picture, there are not much for voids anywhere (in fact the scraggliest tree turned out the best).A little selective pruning after a couple of years will help in shaping the tree. These 2 were mostly just left alone. And I've done dozens of these.
Again, this is much more work than planting potted spruce from the nursery but if you have the trees and a good back, go for it! ;-)
Am thanked BillMN-z-2-3-4
Am
11 months agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 months agoBillMN-z-2-3-4
11 months agolast modified: 11 months ago
FrozeBudd_z3/4
11 months agoBillMN-z-2-3-4
8 months ago8--5-2023: update.
I did a little preemptive pruning. Those long sweeping side branches would be trouble so clipped those to a length that was closer to the trees form.A good 1-3" of new growth this summer (top to bottom). Starting to even itself out just since end of May.
You'll see more than twice this growth next season and it will be on its way.
See you then. ;-)
;)
BillMN-z-2-3-4