It looks like a blue spruce (picea pungens), possibly a cultivar like "fat albert." I would leave it be, spruce trees don't really take well to deliberate pruning, unless you want it to look like an unnatural cone. If that's your thing, I think the manual pruning would be a much better choice.

for sure.. Picea pungens....

see link for pruning info ... note that none of your listed tools is an option... its a hand job.. lol... hand shears ...

whomever planted it.. planted it 10 to 15 feet too close to the house ... who knew.. as a tree.. it would grow up ... very common mistake for peeps to assume that tiny babe.. will always stay tiny ...

if you would like a blue spruce for an xmas tree... removal is probably your best bet ...

there are many dwarf versions of this plant... if you can not plant a replacement any further away ...

timing of shearing.. is imperative... do some research beyond the over view at the link ... and we can discuss it ...

it appears to have grown over one foot last year... it is going to get REAL HUGE ... in the future ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Enjoy it now, use hand pruners ( as suggested by ken) and gently prune. One day you will need to remove it.

PICEA PUNGENS GLAUCA
COLORADO BLUE SPRUCE
Height: 60 Feet Tall
Spread: 20-30 Feet Wide
Color: blue green foliage
Light: Full Sun
Zone: 2

Move the other shrubs away from it a bit and let it spread out. Other than being boxed in by companion plants specimen looks good now and will not be enhanced by any attempts to alter its form significantly. And the main reason to have its pyramidal shape at the corner of your tall house would be to tie the house to the ground and soften its high, rectilinear corner. For this a broad base, reaching all the way to the ground (do not limb it up, as people far too often do) is what you want.

It will be many years before it is tall enough to be fully effective, if it is cut down within a few years then you will have to start over with something else. And all that time developing the spruce to do the job will have been lost.

Wow, had no idea when I bought the house. How can you tell it grew over a foot in a year? How do I positively identify it? I can't see the previous homeowners being the type to actually plant a tree on their own. I believe a professional landscaper planted it there along with all of the other shrubs. You would think that he would not make a mistake of that nature.

So my idea of trying to shape it down like a Christmas tree shape is pointless?

How would I know when I need to remove it before the root system becomes an issue with the proximity to the foundation of my home?

This post was edited by njitgrad on Mon, Nov 3, 14 at 9:35

The tip of the tree, the straight stick without any branches on it, that's your growth for last year. The growth for the year prior to that is just under this part, the section that has little branches sticking out from around the center stick (leader) like a coat rack.

Similarly, on the side branches, last year's growth is at the tip, the part that does not have any branching from it.

I've attached below some better pics that I took with my DSLR today. Does it confirm that I have a Colorado Spruce?

Yes, it's a Colorado blue spruce, Picea pungens. There are many, many cultivars of this species, with different growth rates and different mature sizes. To my less than expert eye, this looks a lot like the popular cultivar 'Fat Albert', noted for its squat, dense form and relatively garden-appropriate size. I wouldn't be necessarily convinced of the rapidity of growth being firmly indicated by the elongation of the leader/growing tip........IME, these often extend somewhat faster than the actual overall growth rate. If you Google images of most pungens cultivars, this extension is pretty noticeable.

As to the roots and concerns for your foundation, unless the foundation is already damaged or cracked, the roots won't be an issue. When roots encounter an obstacle - like the foundation - they simply change direction. Most often foundation issues are the result of subsidence, or water movement in the soil, especially heavy clay soils.

And landscapers seldom design landscapes based entirely on the mature size of large plants like trees. Most planned landscapes are estimated to have at most a 20 year lifespan. Change in homeownership - usually far more often than once every 20 years - typically involves a change in the landscape as well. New owners = new tastes and plant choices. Not to mention activites like remodelling and their impact on the landscape.

Personally, I wouldn't trim it, except perhaps to shorten some of the branches facing the structure to avoid their obstruction. Like bboy's suggestion, I might clean out or relocate some of the surrounding shrubbery and let the tree be. It appears to be in good health and has a handsome appearance. It is a very attractive accent to that part of the garden.

That makes it two votes for 'Fat Albert'.

I would also trim the branches closest to the house. When the top reaches the gutter is when you're going to have problems.
It looks just like my neighbor's 'Fat Albert'.
Mike

This weekend I did a little cleanup of the area surrounding the tree. After than I decided to trim the tree anyway (a good amount of it) using manual hand shears despite suggestions that I don't.

Did I go overboard? Does it look better/worse than before? Will the tree still be okay? Be honest, my feelings won't be hurt.

What's done is done, but I'm wondering if I should leave the tip of the tree intact or should I trim it so that it doesn't stick out like it does?

The main question is whether you left any branches with buds on them and how those buds are dispersed on the remaining tree. Looks like they may be pretty sparse the lower I look on the tree, but it's hard to tell. I'd leave the top alone for now.

tj

Looks like a nice and even pruning job and you can cut the leader back if you're happy with maintaining the tree at around this height. In the coming years, it'll thicken up nicely if you wish to prune the new growth on an annual basis. I have a topiary blue spruce that I prune late in July before the new growth has fully hardened, as pruning at this stage encourages the set of lots of new buds for the following year.

Sorry, you just ruined this plant. You don't cut back a spruce like that this time of year.

You'll now get some new blue growth in random areas where buds where left and other areas void of buds will become "holes" in the plant as the older needles die off.

The tree might set dormant buds next season but not likely.

If you wanted to tighten it up you'd want to fork prune this time of year.

Whaas, I was afraid of that. I guess we'll see what happens next year.

Njitgrad, yes, your tree will produce random growth next year, though will sort itself out afterwards. If you wish to continue annual pruning, just be sure to do so after the new growth has begun to harden off ... don't worry, it'll be fine!

congrats .....

what will you do.. when your ladder and pole trimmer cant reach ???

ken

That's cool @njitgrad, Thanks for the update.

It's commonly stated that hard pruning spruce will not work, and maybe if you do it multiple times it can't bounce back, I dunno. However, I posted the below post, when I observed the power company absolutely slaughter a blue spruce right back to the trunk where it was "near" the lines.

To my surprise, new growth regenerated and is really starting to fill in fast now, I posted that over a year ago. I'll have to post an update. Some suggested there are dormant buds just waiting to spout if they get expose to more light, but I'm starting to wonder if there is more to it than that. It seems that the tree is actually generating new buds on old wood.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2809862/picea-pungens-new-growth-old-wood