Shohin Spruce Development

[PowerTap]

I have a Sitka spruce that I'm developing from sappling to be a Shohin tree. I put bend in it when I started and it has grown a ton straight up. I'm thinking of treating it like I've seen black pine developed and cutting most of the intermediate branches off and letting the trunk thickin with just the some foliage at the top to drive growth. This would help me make sure the low branches I have don't get shaded out and die.

But, I have only seen people talk about this for black pine. Before I start cutting, will this harm my little spruce?

 

[PowerTap]

I opted to take most of the branches off of the sacrifice leader today so that they don't shade out the lower branches I ultimately want to keep. I also reduced the largest primary branch which was turning into a twin trunk and not quite what I wanted.

Before


After


Trunk and reduced primary.

 

[thatdirtykid]

No real input here as a newbie, but it seems like the right idea and not trying to do too much. As a spruce lover I am mostly commenting so I am sure to see how this progresses in the next growing season and how it responds to its eventual chop. I will probably be a couple years behind on a couple of my own.