Spruce Question

I now have a small/medium sized spruce (dwarf alberta) and I know for a fact that it needs repotting in the spring. Am I able to clear some of the foliage out now to clean it up a bit or with the repot this spring completely leave it alone?

so i have only started playing with a spruce last year, but from everything i have read they are sensitive picky bleeders and timing is very important...the pruning and pinching is a bit different too...from what i understand, the best and only time to do any kind of hard pruning is in the fall when the sap flows...you may run into problems if you do any major pruning now in the spring when the sap starts flowing and there are a bunch of open wounds...kinda like birch in this regard i suppose...i think fall is the best time because it limits sap loss while still giving the time for the tree to seal the wound before spring...

again, most of this is not from personal experience, just based on what i have read and speculation

Thanks for the reply,

But isn't the sap flow also slowed in the winter?

Jake16 wrote:Thanks for the reply,

But isn't the sap flow also slowed in the winter?

yeah...but wounds dont heal at all in the winter, so it either has to die back, or when the sap does flow in the spring its still wide opn since it hasnt had a chance to heal over at all...this is they way i understand it anyway on my pursuit to understanding spruce and birch...in the fall, the sap slows waaay down but the tree is still able to heal itself somewhat before going into dormancy...hope that makes sense...maybe someone with more firsthand experience than myself will chime in and either confirm or deny...in the meantime ill link a couple guides for you when i get back from walking the dog...

That makes perfect sense and as for the links just as a heads up I've read bonsai4me's article.

Jake16 wrote:That makes perfect sense and as for the links just as a heads up I've read bonsai4me's article.

that was the one i was going to link since it is the most detailed...all of the others i have found say basically the same thing but less detailed...