Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
How to Trim a Dwarf Alberta Spruce
How to Trim a Dwarf Alberta Spruce. Dwarf Alberta spruce trees, Picea glauca var. Albertiana "Conica," are common evergreens in residential landscapes. They are slow growers, adding just 2 to 4 inches per year, and have a natural pyramid shape and light green foliage. Typically, dwarf Alberta spruce trees maintain themselves and require little...
Dwarf Alberta spruce trees, Picea glauca var. Albertiana "Conica," are common evergreens in residential landscapes. They are slow growers, adding just 2 to 4 inches per year, and have a natural pyramid shape and light green foliage. Typically, dwarf Alberta spruce trees maintain themselves and require little pruning. However, there are some occasions when pruning is required.
Things You'll Need
Hand pruners
Pruning shears
Stand back and look at the dwarf Alberta spruce to identify any stems that are a distinctly different color and that have grown much longer than the other branches. This is a genetic deformity that must be removed.
Trace the deformed stem to where the coloring changes back to a light green and then go back a little further to the next junction with a stem. Cut the branch off using hand pruners.
Examine the overall shape of the dwarf Alberta spruce and use pruning shears to neaten up the pyramid shape if desired. Trim off only 1 to 2 inches from the tips of the stems, sloping upward to a point as you prune the upper portions of the tree.
Examine the tree regularly for signs of new deformed growth development. If new growths develop, prune them off as soon as they occur, in the same manner done previously. If you wait until the growths are larger before pruning them, the tree could end up with gaps in the foliage.
