Hello Becca.

I think you hit it although candle pruning seems like an art that is usually done to dwarfs.

How tall is that tree? Seems like alot of work are you going for a formal look or screen or just want to grow some healthy trees?

What are you seeing that makes you call it "top heavy"?

It's a normal fir which isn't top heavy at all...

Looks fine to me too, no need for any pruning.

Resin

did you plant this???

what i am seeing.. is that it was shaved.. to make a pretty little xmas tree shape ... for retail sale ...

after planting.. and full establishment ... it is out-growing its shaved look ... and developing its NATURAL shape and look ...

i cant tell what it is... but when its a telephone pole .... it will be in its natural shape...

the problem with you messing with it is.. is that.. as it get 15... 30.. 45... feet tall .... how are you going to maintain it????? do you happen to have a bucket truck???

enjoy it for what it is.. and what it will become ... on its own ... and quit comparing it to its sibling behind.. you cant do that with children.. and you cant do it with trees ....

if you want some pretty.. little xmas tree shaped plant.. we can probably make suggestions for your area.... outside of the monster species plants .... though have no clue about NM...

ken

The bottom is starting to fill out but the top was always larger and was worried that snow load would bring it down. It's about 7 feet tall and was planted before I moved in. Glad to know it will develop on it's own. I kept picturing a 20 foot tree with this huge umbrella top and tiny little branches on the bottom and then one day just falling over lololol.

As you can (maybe) tell from my property I don't like pretty little shaped anything. Natural and healthy is my motto. So happy to know I DON'T have to do anything to it.

Thank you all for the input!

Becca, it looks like you have a pretty scenic spot of land there in what to a humidity having, short line of sight St Louis boy seems like am exotic setting. It has been awhile since I have been ouy west.

Feel free to post some pics and show off as the seasons progress!

toronado3800, humidity is around 50% (high for here) mainly because it's the monsoon season so fairly decent rain. It's taken awhile to adapt to the high desert garden but having fun with it.

I'll try and remember to send a current photo later in the season. Attaching one of a past winter out of my kitchen window.

I don't think yours is a fir (Abies) at all. It looks like a spruce (Picea) to me....

Are you near the Taos area?

osprey

More near Santa Fe. How can I find out if it's a fir or spruce just so I know.

This is a direct quote:

"To tell spruce and fir trees apart, it helps to know that spruce needles are sharply pointed, square and easy to roll between your fingers. Fir needles, on the other hand, are softer, flat and cannot be rolled between your fingers. Spruce needles are attached to small, stalk-like woody projections. When needles are shed, these projections remain. As a result, the branches of spruce trees feel rough. Fir branches lack these projections, and thus have smooth bark. The color and length of needles are not reliable means of identification; these can vary from tree to tree, depending on cultural conditions and the planting site. "

Your tree looks more like a Blue Spruce (Picea pungens). A test will be drought tolerance. With a few exceptions, Picea is generally more drought tolerant than Abies.

Here is a link that might be useful: Iowa State University Extension

OK, your are right, still pinyon/juniper country there....

Smivies describes a very good way to tell them apart, but it is even easier if you have cones. Spruce cones are pendulous and do not disintegrate upon seed dispersal... I believe there are a couple of cones in one of your trees...