Spruce trees (Picea spp.) are coniferous evergreens that grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 8. They function best in well-draining soil and full sun or light shade. Their sharp, four-sided needles develop outward around the circumference of division stems. Spruce trees require minimal cutting and therefore are intolerant of heavy duty. Trimming them is best limited to eliminating their dead and damaged branches and also to encouraging new take growth for fuller trees.
Cut each spruce tree’s lifeless branches back to the tree’s trunk. If a branch does not have any needles, it is probably dead and may be removed. Make each cut at a 45-degree angle just beyond the branch collar. The branch collar is the slightly enlarged place where the branch joins the trunk; a branch collar also rises where a branch originates from the other branch. Use loppers to cut tiny branches along with a pruning saw to cut branches bigger than one inch in diameter.
Cut each damaged or diseased division back to 1 inch outside a bud in the event the harm or infection is confined to the branch tip. In case you have to cut back needle growth, then get rid of the whole division because it won’t regrow.
Trim the tips of new growth 1 inch outside a bud with pruning shears to support new side shoots and create fuller spruce trees. Do not trim growth older than the current season, and do not remove over one-third of the new-season growth at one time.