Question - Spruce trimming and heavy branch work

[Dark_Forest]

Hi All,

It may sound silly but I have completely forgotten when the best time to trim and wire Norwegian Spruce is meant to be.

I've had one sitting on my bench for a couple of years that I haven't had time to get stuck into (moved house, renovated, had baby, etc, etc). Fortunately, it's healthier than ever due to a lot of sun, water and kept on a fertilising regime.

It's covered in buds and looks like I need to cut back to inner buds to reduce length. With the idea to do some seiuos work on it maybe within the next 12 months.

So - when is best to trim back to inner buds, and when is best for serious branch work for Norwegian Spruce?

PS. I'm Melbourne based.

PXL_20250513_043143024~3.jpg

[The Specimen]

That looks heaps of fun to get stuck into
Repot first then prune or other way around?

[shibui]

I do not subscribe to 'best time' for pruning.
In nature, trees and shrubs are 'pruned' at all times of year. Animals do not come by at specific times. Storms don't always happen in one season. Plants get damaged and bits get removed any time of year and they still seem to manage to survive.
You may find that the response is slightly different or slower or quicker at certain times of the year but the tree will almost always keep growing.
Pruning now, at the start of winter, your tree will do very little until Spring. That new growth may be strong.
Pruning in Spring - The tree will start growing almost immediately. That new growth may be strong.
Prune in Summer - The tree will respond reasonably quickly. That new growth may be smaller and a little weaker.

Note: there may not be a 'best' time to prune but we have found there can be time of year to avoid for some species but I'm not aware of any problems pruning Spruce at specific times.

Congrats on the new addition. Hope being a parent is proving rewarding.

[Trimmy]

Congrats on the new addition.

I thought you were talking about the spruce at first. But yes, being a parent is the most important job in the world. Congratulations Dark Forest.

I agree that spruce seem fine to be pruned at any time of year.

Some deciduous trees are more likely to have die back if pruned in winter. People often do it anyway. Definitely a thing to avoid on Birch. I tried a trunk chop on a trident in winter and the trunk died down to the ground on one side.

[shibui]

Good point on birch pruning. I have also had branches die after winter pruning. Lots of US growers saying only prune birch when they are growing.
I'll add maples to the sensitive list. I avoid pruning maples from late winter through to leaves open because they seem to 'bleed' a lot when pruned closer to bud burst (unless the tree has been root pruned which seems to stop/prevent bleeding). Bleeding may not be an issue, according to many growers but I did have some die back a couple of times so now try to avoid late winter maple pruning.

I'm not aware of any other sensitive species. Maybe others might add any here?

[treeman]

=Dark_Forest post_id=306654 time=1747299867 user_id=10584]




So - when is best to trim back to inner buds, and when is best for serious branch work for Norwegian Spruce?

Anytime from now onwards.

[Dark_Forest]

Thank you all for the advice.
I might get stuck into it in the next couple of weeks!

[shibui]

Anytime from now onwards.

In other words, any time of year?

[treeman]

Anytime from now onwards.

In other words, any time of year?

No.

[shibui]

You obviously know what you mean, Mike, but we can't mind read.
'Any time from now onwards' - with no end date - can easily be interpreted as any time in the next 12 months, 2 years or longer. If you do have a finite timeframe in mind please be specific.

[treeman]

'Any time from now onwards' - with no end date - can easily be interpreted as any time in the next 12 months,

Considering that this...

when is best to trim back to inner buds, and when is best for serious branch work for Norwegian Spruce?

...was the question, how is it possible to deduce that it could mean anytime within the next 12 months?
But if you must have a clarification, conifers are generally worked on after the season's growth has hardened and not before it has hardened. This coincides with the colder months. You don't want to mess around with them when growing, when buds are forming, in full growth or when the bark is ''slipping'' which could lead to excessive bleeding. Spruces are more delicate than black pines.