"The tree began to take its dream shape three years after the first haircuts" - Jerzy Zwierzykowski, Bydgoszcz
" The author of the text and photos below is the reader of the magazine Przepis na Ogród - Jerzy Zwierzykowski from Bydgoszcz. "
A common, prickly spruce growing right at the entrance to our garden. He looked melancholy and sad. It didn't quite fit in with the rest of the environment.My wife and I thought for a long time what to do with it.Finally I picked up a secateurs and a hacksaw and started working.
First, I cut off the conifer arms hanging over the path. There was clearance as high as an adult man. The remainder still looked dull. Ignoring the pricks and the resin, I climbed up.I was removing branches according to some unspecified plan.My wife, sitting nearby on the bench, silently accepted my actions. I was cutting right next to the trunk all the old shoots that I intuitively considered redundant.
I did not use garden ointment, as the leaking resin seemed to be sufficient protection. Finally, I stood on firm ground and was able to admire the effects of my work. About thirty-year-old spruce still looked not very favorable.The whole seven-meter trunk covered with a palisade of uneven branches, bent in different directions, created a view far from aesthetic.I tied the unruly shoots with a string, pulling them in the desired direction. The ones that stuck out stubbornly were additionally weighed down with sandbags.
The whole task turned out to be easy and can be summarized in several points.It was necessary:
- Make a decision.
- Cut off unnecessary branches with a sharp pruner or garden saw.
- Bend the shoots with a string and sandbags (an old shirt sleeve cut into sections, tied and filled with aggregate).
- Make a ruler from a rope loosely tied to the trunk to shorten the ends of the branches with a smaller secateurs on a relatively even circle (for each story with a different diameter).
- In the following year, in July, make a leveling cut on the regrowths.
- Carry out haircuts with electric scissors each year.
There was little work. And the new look of the old spruce perfectly blends in with the whole surroundings. I encourage all of you to experiment with cutting conifers in your gardens.
These two ways brought all the roots to the level. Then, with a loose loop, I fastened a rope to the trunk, tied a knot at the desired length, which was the reference point for an even cut around the tree. With the smaller secateurs, I cut the ends of the branches flush with the knot.
It was a hot July.Spruce had the first cut behind him, and I had my first experience in this direction.In the next year, at about the same time, I made a cosmetic cut on fresh shoots, in places allowing the shape to be evened out. After three years, the tree finally got a nice look.
I'm still working on it to get closer to the imaginary ideal.The main tools during this work are a ladder and an electric hedge trimmer.This means one thing - the procedure is very short.
Now the spruce no longer scares me off. On the contrary - it welcomes all our guests and arouses their curiosity.
