I have a bare spot on my blue spruce. Can I graft a branch into the bare area to fill it?
According to this website, the chances aren't good. You need to graft young wood to young wood, and in a greenhouse environment. On the positive side, blue spruces fill in the spaces themselves.
Try getting another branch to fill in that bare spot. Take a tie (from a bread wrapper) and cox it over to the bar spot and wait a while for it to naturally take hold itself.
We had the same issue when our maple was removed it's overhang left a huge bare spot in our spruce. It looked terrible.
Sadly grafting is very challenging and fraught with failure (and danger if you are up on a ladder trying to get it done). It is NOT impossible...just challenging. You may want to talk to your local garden center to get their feedback on the best methods for your climate, if you are so game.
We had someone suggest just to plant another tree next to it to cover up the bald spot...ummm...that defeated the purpose of removing the maple whose roots were causing issues...didn't want another tree...but I guess for some people if it is a cosmetic fix it might work. Someone actually did a YouTube video on it (NO, not my friend...although I wouldn't put it past him) www.youtube.com/
In our case, we just let it go and eventually (2 full seasons) the spot filled itself in almost perfectly. Mother nature has the best solutions sometimes!
Good luck!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My kids just broke off the top two feet of my prized 13 ft Blue Spruce while taking down the Christmas lights. Is there anything that I can do to keep the trunk growing upward?
Hardiness Zone: 6a
By John from NM
It will probably fill out sideways more than up, and then it will grow upwards again. It should right itself over the whole of a year.
Call a nursery that sells blue spruce trees and get a professional opinion.
Your blue spruce has been established for 13 years. This pine tree should be fine without you having to do anything. Our top of a pine was ripped off by high winds and within 2 years the top grew back.
I have a tall blue spruce tree, 30+ft tall. I would guess it is 25 years old. The older part or lower half has no inside needles, only on the tips giving it a sparse look. If I prune it would it fill in? Is this from age or is it unhealthy?
It gets full sun and continues to grow, even though I wish it would stop. You refer to removing the central leader, but am not sure what that is and if I can do it myself or need professional help.If you have a hacksaw and are not afraid of heights you can prune in the spring when there is new growth. You want to avoid the central branch.
I have a young blue spruce that has been damaged leaving a big bare spot on one side. Should I prune to try to reshape the tree? There are several branches which are much longer than the rest and stick way out. Also, the top has died twice. Is there anything I can do to prevent that?
Hardiness Zone: 5a
By Linda from MA
Here's a link on pruning. A few thoughts, when it was planted were the roots given plenty of room to grow, was the soil free from too much clay?
