If you grow conifers on the site, then you need to properly care for them. The appearance and growth rate of the plant depends on this. This article will discuss the basic rules and technology for pruning blue spruce.

The main goals of circumcision

There are several main purposes for pruning blue spruce:

1. Removing damaged and dry branches from a tree that take up too many nutrients and provoke a slowdown in the development of conifers.
2. Rejuvenation of adult plants.
3. Providing the necessary nutrition to the branches. Pruning also contributes to better air penetration into the tree.

Important! If you trim the plant too late, they can slow down in development and lose their beautiful shape.

Best time

It is possible to determine the optimal time for pruning fir trees by the technology of actions. Sanitary work can be carried out at any time of the year, if necessary. Most often, the procedure is carried out when a broken or damaged branch poses a threat to animals or people.

Other types of pruning are carried out in the following season:

• spring is considered the best time to form a crown. It is necessary to carry out work before the onset of sap flow in the kidneys, that is, in late March or early April;
• to remove shoots and branches that are knocked out of the general structure of the crown, the best time is summer (mid or end of July).

Step-by-step instruction

If you start pruning conifers, in particular blue spruce, you need to trim no more than 1/3 of the green mass. If the plant is healthy, then it can recover quite quickly. It is better not to touch sick and weakened plants, since they will not have time to grow needles by winter.It is important to choose the right tools to cut conifers: pruning shears, scissors or a hand saw.

In order not to harm the trees, it is necessary to treat the garden equipment with disinfectants (alcohol, manganese or hydrogen peroxide). Follow the step by step instructions so as not to provoke a violation of the structure of the crown or the growth rate of needles.

Topping

Quite often, gardeners resort to pinching to make the crown of the tree more lush and thick. The procedure must be carried out in early summer, when the growth of young shoots stops.

Important! If the pinch is carried out too late (at the end of summer), then new buds will not have time to appear before the onset of frost, so they will form only in the spring.

The pinching procedure is as follows:

1. Break out part of the candle completely.
2. Cut small branches with a pruner.
3. Remove large ones with a hacksaw or a garden file.

The shoots must be cut carefully so that the sleeping kidneys are not damaged. Of these, new sprouts will appear. On healthy trees, at the base of the pruned branch, about 3 shoots are formed.

Formation

It is customary to begin the formation of blue spruce in mid-summer. If the work is carried out in late autumn or winter, then the place left after cutting the branches will be struck by severe frosts and will suffer. Most likely, the growth of the crown will stop. Most often, crown formation begins when the top of the tree is damaged.

A step-by-step procedure for booking is as follows:

1. Remove the apex to the developed lateral branch.
2. Tie a tight rail to the trunk, with which you can straighten the top. This will allow her to be constantly upright.

Video: blue spruce formation

Sanitary pruning

If you want to help the plant grow better, then sanitary pruning is necessary. Regularly inspect trees for damaged or weak branches and remove them in a timely manner. If this is not done, then the trees will be affected by fungal infections. This is due to the fact that part of the blue spruce is in the open state, where various viruses and bacteria can freely pass.

Did you know? The needles of blue spruce were used by mariner Cook to create a potion against scurvy. This is due to the fact that it contains a large amount of vitamin C.

The sanitary pruning procedure is as follows:

1. Carefully inspect the tree.
2. If broken or diseased branches were found, then they must be carefully cut with a saw.
3. There is no need to process the cutting site, as conifers emit tar, which creates an airtight coating.

After haircut care

After cutting blue spruce, you must properly care for it. The quality and pace of tree restoration depends on this. First of all, you should adjust the watering and top dressing. Conifers should also be supported by growth stimulants.

Feeding and watering

Watering the blue spruce after pruning is necessary by sprinkling. That is, water needs to be poured not only under the root, but also on the crown. Watering is carried out evenly. Spruce does not tolerate waterlogging and drought. At least 40 liters of water are poured under each plant. Watering interval - 3 weeks. Strong growth stimulants should also be used to restore the plant to frost. On the crown you need to pour "Epin" (50 g per 10 liters of water), and under the root - "Zircon" (30 g per 10 liters of water).

Top dressing is introduced only at the end of October in order to increase the frost resistance of a weakened tree. To do this, use a strong solution of superphosphate (100 g per 10 liters of water). The entire volume is poured under each plant.

Mulching and loosening of soil

As an additional protection against frost, the soil is mulched. To do this, lay out a 15-cm layer of straw, fallen leaves or sawdust. In addition, it is not necessary to cover the topsoil with anything, since the needles, which create protection, fall off in the fall.

Did you know? Blue spruces, which grow near the Kremlin, were brought to Russia from North America.

Loosen the soil before each soil application and watering. The root system of blue spruce is quite developed. For this reason, loosening is carried out to a depth of 10 cm. Also, weeds should be removed every week, which can inhibit the development of roots and provoke the appearance of diseases and pests.

So, now you know how to trim a blue spruce so that it grows thick and lush. All procedures should be carried out at the optimum time. This allows the culture to recover and not be affected by strong and dangerous diseases.