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30 year old blue spruce is 10 ft from from the house is it safe for the house? #749374

Asked May 11, 2021, 6:05 PM EDT

30 year old blue spruce is 10 ft from the house. is it to close to be safe for the house? can the tree's spread be significantly trimmed so the branches are away from th house?

Arapahoe County Colorado

Expert Response

Hello and thank you for using Ask Extension.  

Spruce trees can grow up to 60 feet and spread 25 feet.  Your 30 year old tree may be approaching that size.  The reason I mention this is because it's growth rate is slowing down.  So, excessive pruning can add stress to the tree.  

Here is an excerpt from one of our publications on pruning trees.  

Dosage: Maximum Amount of Live Wood / Foliage to Remove
Do not indiscriminately remove branches with live foliage as this can add stress to the tree. The amount of live wood and foliage to remove per season depends
on the actual growth rate of the tree. Young, actively growing, trees are rather tolerant of a heavy pruning dose. As trees become mature, they become intolerant
of heavy pruning. Look at six to 12 branches around the tree to assess growth rates. Look for what is the typical growth rate for most branches, not the fastest or slowest growing branches.

• Trees under severe stress putting on insignificant annual growth – Limit pruning to cleaning (removal of dead and damaged branches). Live wood should not be removed on trees under severe stress (including
drought stress). Heavy pruning simply removes the stored photosynthates that the tree is living on during the stress period!
• On mature trees (greater than 75% mature size for the site), pruning dose should be limited to 5% to 10%, based on actual growth and vigor of the
tree.
• On medium aged trees, the dosage really depends on actual growth. Typical range would be 10% to 25% depending on actual growth and vigor of the tree.

In situations where trees are pruned annually (the ideal situation), the appropriate pruning dose would be on the lighter side. However, in real world situations, trees are often pruned only once every several years. Here the appropriate pruning dose
may be heavier. In situations where heavy pruning is needed, complete the work over a period of years.


Assuming your tree is mature and healthy, you should limit the pruning to about 5 to 10% of the tree per season.  

As far as the risk of the tree falling on your house, I am not qualified to answer such a question.  You should seek the advice of a certified arborist.  Here is a link that may be helpful in finding an arborist.  

https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist

Good luck.

Jeff C, Master Gardener Volunteer Replied May 12, 2021, 1:23 PM EDT

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