when was the pic taken???

at the branch tips ... you see this years buds... cut them off.. and that branch dies back to a live bud ...

when they exte3nd later in spring.. BEFORE they set next years buds ... you can trim the new growth ... and the new buds will set ...

but lets be realistic ... you will NEVER keep it that size ... e.g. if bud extend.. a sin the pic... 3 inches.. and you trim it back 1.5 inches.. every year.. it will grow 1.5 inches ... so in ten years... it will be 15 inches bigger ...

frankly.. move it now ... it looks like you only have about 3 inches from the driveway ...

you absolutely have to tell us where you are.. in every post ... is that this years growth.. or a pic from last year ... [unless you can figure out.. on your members page.. how to add the info next to your name ..]

no conifer .... which are trees... ever stops growing ...

ken

Sorry, I thought my zone info was in my profile. I am in northern NJ and this photo was taken today, April 7th. I assumed this was a kind of dwarf variety when the landscaper put it in. I understand it may outgrow the place someday but was hoping to get 10 years or so anyway.

make a pretty cool xmas tree someday ....

has it extended this year... or are the buds all fat and happy .... hard and tannish??? it seems awful early for it to already be extended out ...

ken

It hasn't done anything but look back at me yet this year. It just uncovered from the snow about 2 weeks ago. I can take a close up photo of a branch tomorrow it that helps.

Daniel, Ken's talking about pruning the "candles" which is what we sometimes call that flush of new growth on a pine-family member, like this spruce. So new growth flushes out, extends, stops growing, and forms buds where next year's growth will commence. You would like to interrupt this process a bit, by reducing amount of new growth. You can't stop it altogether but you can minimize it.

+om

I understand. So what is the correct way to trim the candle and at what time of year?

Yes, Ken's link, plus, quite soon! Basically, you are pruning the new growth, so as soon as that appears is your target. With the coolish conditions this spring-I think that includes where you are-I'll bet you've got weeks, not days, to go yet. But as soon as new growth appears, new growth can be shortened up. This growth is extremely soft and as such, even a scissors would work. I'm sure if I was to do this, I'd just reach for my hand pruner.

+oM

At the risk of appearing dense, I am having trouble finding any relevant information at Ken's linked website, although it looks like a great site (bookmarked). So, wisconsitom, you are suggesting that I cut off, say, half of the new growth I presume? The candles get quite long before they are full-sized. Is it better to cut them in half just after they break out of the brown bud casing (or whatever it is called), or wait a week until they have a chance to spread out a little???

by the way , those golden mops you got growing there will grow like 10 times their size

they will have to be moved ALSO.

your blue looks like a "Hoopsi"

ron

In a word - your blue spruce doesn't have "candles" yet. You'll know when they appear. As wisconsitom wrote, they'll be soft; and they'll also be a little more greenish than the blue. I tend to cut my candles just an inch or so short of where the new growth starts.

Tried for years to keep some supposedly dwarf mugos in check with attentive annual candle cutting - losing battle after a while and they've become like the moons of Mars... and candidates for removal.

Right, duluth-this technique of candle pruning works, but especially on a multi-candled entity like Mugo pine, it can become daunting over time. For this little guy, not such a task really. Yes Daniel, wait for the new growth to just extend to what looks like its fullest extent, then shorten as you will. No ratio per se, just make sure and shorten enough to make it worth your while. Like Duluth is saying, you can leave just a wee bit of the new growth, thereby doing your utmost to delay the time this plant will have outgrown its spot.

+oM

So do new buds form for next year on the remaining candle that I did not cut off? Will the candle I just cut kind of repair itself and not look all chopped off for the rest of the season?

What happens to the existing branch if I cut off 100% of the new candle?

Also, my landscape design guy has been in landscaping for 50 years. I don't understand why he would recommend gold mops if they all get so big. I've seen them around town and they can be huge.

Promise I won't keep asking more questions. My main question was answered. Thank you guys!

Fifty years in the business and he makes a design error like that doesn't say much for what he's learned over the years.
Mike

Ask as much or as little as you like! There's no limit. You won't have to do anything with the remainder of the new growth left on the plant. It will take care of itself. Don't however make the mistake of going further back into the branches, removing old growth. Pine-family members have relatively few, if any, dormant buds, so if you cut back into old growth, that branch will decline thereafter. Also, yes, new buds will form at their usual time. And finally, cut lots of the new growth off, but do leave a bit.

+oM

Cool Wisconsitom. How 'bout those gold mop things? I'm going to speak to my landscape guy soon and see why he put them there. I get the feeling he doesn't think outgrowing the space will be a problem. I'll definitely report back on what he says so I can learn something.

Well I got so busy I haven't had time to prune back the candles. They've hardened up a bit and I'm hoping there is no problem with pruning them now in late June. There are new buds on the candles (for next year) already so I hope I can still trim. I included a photo just to be sure I'm doing this right. I can see from Ken and other's comments that this isn't the right plant for this spot, but what the heck, it's already there so I might as well prune it for awhile and see what happens.

My finger is where the new candle starts. There is one small bud just to the right of my finger. 2 questions: 1) Can I cut back to that one bud so I get most of the candle removed, and 2) if I cut, say, half a candle will buds form at the cut? In other words, is it better to cut a candle just beyond a bud or doesn't it matter?

For a small plant like you have, a cut of 2" deep is a safe bet regardless where the new candles are. It will develop new buds. More than 3 " all bets are off. There will be no new buds developed beyond 3".

I trimmed both P.P Montgomery and P.P Fat Albert that way. They look awesome after just one season after the trimming.

Check out my post "Matrix Reload" and looking for those two plants I mentioned above and see the result.

Good luck!

John N.

Thanks bamboo. I read your "Matrix Reload" thread with great interest, particularly where you write, "And I wish someday, somehow, in a meaningful way, I would be able to
repay my debts to this country who has given the greatest gift: freedom." Just let people know what it is like to live in a place where freedom is gone, and I think you've done your part as a great American! Our freedom is crumbling all around us and most of us don't even have the perspective to realize it... maybe only when it is too late.

Anyhow, not to be too big a downer here! Thanks for the advice on that little guy. I'm going to give him a haircut asap.

If you want to minimize growth without having an overly dense specimen (which you don't want with a Picea pungens east of the Mississippi due to diseases assocatied with humidity) you can simply fork prune. As a representation, take your three middle fingers and cut the middle finger all the way back as that was the terminal bud and is the most vigorous shoot. But do it early fall as you don't want the plant setting new buds where you cut it, which it will do if you prune this time of year.

If you want to maintain height as well you can cut back to a dormant bud that time of year as well.

whaas: is it OK to prune all the candles back now, and then lop off the "middle finger" so to speak in the fall?

I must say I'm not the pruning authority just giving feedfback on my experience. If you cut it back now there is potential they'll set more buds where you cut it. If you decide to cut them back now, I'd suggest pruning back to a bud that is on the top of the shoot vs the side

Okay now I'm confused again. Maybe I should just lop off 2 inches from everywhere and then reevaluate in the fall.

You have to wait until the new growth has harden off before you prune. The exception is if you want a denser plant.

In my zone that typically occurs early to mid July for Picea pungens.

So with that said, assuming you don't want a denser plant, fork prune the middle shoots and you can cut back the other shoots back to a bud. Do so early fall.

Personally I would only cut back those vigourous middle shoots, otherwise its too much work and its the wrong plant for the wrong spot.