bonsaichile
Omono
For what it's worth, you should never pinch a spruce. It only weakens them. Instead, let them grow all summer and in August cut back to a bud.
Dwarf Alberta Spruce “I can feel the hate inside you”.
- Thread starter Arcto
- Start date
For what it's worth, you should never pinch a spruce. It only weakens them. Instead, let them grow all summer and in August cut back to a bud.
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
Hell yeah man! You proved me wrong! Very nice.
PiñonJ
Omono
Pinching is an appropriate technique when transitioning to refinement. Look at the Mirai streams dealing with their Engelmann cascade. That tree wasn't weakened in the slightest and was pinched in multiple sessions over 3-4 weeks. But @Arcto already knows that - he's taken Elongating Species courses at Mirai.
bonsaichile
Omono
I don't watch Mirai. Not that I don't admire Neil and his artistry. I do. I just can't stand him.
PiñonJ
Omono
At any rate, I pinch spruces in refinement with no undesirable effects.
Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
I too, beat dead horses. Here's one first wired in early January. It's about 24" and has a good spiral staircase, but it's hard to see now and I won't sacrifice foliage at this time just to make it look nice. The wire is loose on purpose to counteract the bad reputation for rebound by leaving it on for as long as possible. I'd be happy if I can tip prune it this summer and get more back-budding next spring. I've only actually seen one in the flesh that was worth a damn. It was a large collected forest that I could have bought, but alas, I was too cheap at the time. Penny wise and pound foolish.
thanks for saving me having to respond to that post.bonsaichile
Omono
I found that when I pinch spruces, I get all the new buds at the wound, not back in the branch. That is why I prefer to wait until it has set new buds for next year and cut back. Otherwise, the foliage concentrates only on the tip of the branches.
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
I feel like this "pinching" of a spruce, is forcing something within a time frame that doesn't necessarily need to exist.
What happens when you "pinch" it, and how are the results better than cutting back to 2 buds further back the branch?
I don't believe it is "faster". This thought is based of things Ryan teaches.
All it offers is a different aesthetic, and if any side effects, reduced health.
That tree may never have been weakened.
That statement remains true even if the tree went from poor health to poor health.
Sorce
What happens when you "pinch" it, and how are the results better than cutting back to 2 buds further back the branch?
I don't believe it is "faster". This thought is based of things Ryan teaches.
All it offers is a different aesthetic, and if any side effects, reduced health.
That tree may never have been weakened.
That statement remains true even if the tree went from poor health to poor health.
Sorce
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
The entire thought process is based off Ryan's teaching.
I never could grasp his spruce teachings, though K know I missed parts, the parts that exist are enough to know it's kinda...kinda...
Contradictory to his own teachings.
Sorce
I never could grasp his spruce teachings, though K know I missed parts, the parts that exist are enough to know it's kinda...kinda...
Contradictory to his own teachings.
Sorce
bonsaichile
Omono
One of the problems I have with the Mirai videos is that I find them (1) too long and (2) Ryan rambles too much. That makes them confusing to me. There are some outstanding ones, like his wiring explanation. But those live streams when he works on trees... It is like going to a demo without any of the benefits of actually being there. Truth be told, I don't have the patience for them.
PiñonJ
Omono
The primary purposes of pinching are to maintain a desired silhouette and to balance energy. It is not a developmental technique and you certainly don’t do it on a weak tree.
bonsaichile
Omono
Similar to junipers, to maintain the desired silhouette you cut back (to a bud) the long shoots. Spruces grow; it is imposible to keep the silhouette without interior growth that in time will take the place of overgrown branches
When the tree is strong, healthy and growing well. When it is in refinement. When it has pads formed and backbudding occurring. When new growth starts to go beyond the silhouette. Then I will pinch as needed. I will continue to prune as needed also. There maybe some confusion for some people about the change in technique between development and refinement. I won’t pinch areas of the tree still in development.
bonsaichile
Omono
Problem is, spruces dont backbud as predictably as pines do. And pinching only stimulates budding at the tip of the shoot, not further down the branch. I prefer not to pinch.
That’s why I continue to prune as well.
bonsaichile
Omono
that assumes you can keep the desired silhouette indefinitely, which is certainly not the case with most trees. Cutting back to a bud usually means cutting down to the bottom of this year's shoots, where new buds will set in August. Keeping the tree's foliage throught the season to maximize its photosynthetic period keeps a tree strong. Forcing it to spend resources in an artificial "second flush" weakens it. You can do it, but if you do it every year, your tree will slowly decline.
PiñonJ
Omono
That’s right, but you don’t pinch unless you already have the back buds which it will stimulate. You can achieve that also with pruning post hardening, but the resulting growth may have longer internodes than you might like.
