interesting link ...

i like all the hard work .. not a bad job ...

but that darn tree still looks like it under the power lines... and they didnt significantly shorten the tree ... so whats the point??

where are you .. .big city name...

i didnt think blue spruce .. Picea pungens can handle z8b ...

it all may be moot as to it growing into a large tree...

just because they sold it as a disposable xmas tree... doesnt mean it zone appropriate.. or i will stand corrected ..

ken

BTW: there are a multitude of dwarf pungens.. that could fit in many such situations... presuming they are zone appropriate ...

Pruning up the tree will effectively ruin the overall look of the Blue Spruce, depending on the variety but with most seedling or common Blue Spruce they will not respond well to
such pruning.

Plant it in a park where it can grow naturally as nature intended it to do.

Dave

In response the the first two posts, I live in Portland, Oregon, a mostly cold and very rainy climate. It's about three feet high so far. It might not even make it, we'll see if it grows some new buds in the spring. Thanks for the link!

And thanks for your response, Dave. If the tree does well enough I might just do that.

Here is another example of a blue spruce that has been regularly pruned for size.
{{gwi:610974}}

The people at the link I posted are really into hard pruning of all kinds of trees/shrubs. They also say that sometimes plants don't survive the pruning. But if the alternative is having a monster or taking it out, maybe losing a few is ok.

They show a spruce under some wires in a grassy lawn, probably the homeowners spend many hours every year mowing and watering and fertilizing the lawn. If they like the spruce, why not cut the tree back every year or two when the alternative is to let it grow too high then remove it.

the link.. is for an already overgrown plant ...

at 3 feet ... yours is not.. so you would not prune it that way ...

this spring.. should it bud out... you would ... cut the soft new growth about half way ...

it is imperative that you do this.. while it is soft and fresh ...

on a typical pungens... new growth should be about one foot up... 8 inches sideways... [but of course yours is a recent transplant so both would be lesser] ...

anyway ... as the new growth extends.. new buds are set ... as the wood hardens...

if you do it while soft.. new buds will be set.. before it hardens off ...

if you do it too late ... and you cut off all the set buds.. you are screwed ... lol ...

unfortunately.. i dont have time to find you a precise link in this regard ... hopefully someone else can provide such ..

the pic above.. represents one that was pruned as i am explaining.. not like at the link ...

ken

ps: commando planting ... ???? .. i wonder.. is that much different than polluting the park ... presuming the park is planted with a design or plan??? .. i dont know, nor am i denigrating such.. i am just wondering ... would it be ok.. if it were an invasive plant???

Sometimes shearing is confused with pruning.
I guess shearing is a form of pruning, a dumbed down version.
It does have it's place though.
Mike

exactly ...

we dont top trees...

conifers are trees ...

and essentially .... shearing is no better than topping ...

ken

ps: go ahead and plant it commando ... i doubt a 3 foot conifer transplant can survive with little or no followup care .... its just a situation.. where you cant seem to win ... making that fake xmas tree look better and better.. lol ...