Don't try to prune once the needles have opened fully or.

If you want to keep your evergreen tree a particular height, you need to prune it every year or two. When pruning includes the top, it can result in a weakened tree. When the top of an evergreen is cut, it grows multiple new shoots from the cut, causing a fork or prong look. These shoots are weaker than a single main stem, and with weather conditions such as wind and snow, the tree might split at the top.

I would not cut the top off of an evergreen tree for any reason except to remove dead or diseased branches.

Evergreens grow from a central leader, which you can see at the top of the tree. If you have to trim your evergreen, be sure to prune it only when it is dormant.

With some broadleaf evergreen shrubs, you will have a difficult call to make.

Apr 06, While many plants can be pruned to keep their size in check, this is hard to do with evergreens because most grow from a central leader. Practices such as topping a tree by cutting off the uppermost part of the trunk should be stumplopping.barted Reading Time: 6 mins.

Oct 06, Pruning evergreen shrubs requires removing any wilted or diseased branches before trimming back one third of the healthy branches. Maintain an evergreen shru. Jul 03, Consequently, you should treat the following tips as general guidelines, to be modified on an as-needed basis: As a general rule, you should not be pruning broadleaf evergreens heavily.

The pegs remain on the branches even after the needles drop, which is why spruce branches feel so rough and bumpy.

Sometimes, they will need no pruning at all. Other times, pruning the tips of the branches lightly will.