{"id":9468,"date":"2019-07-02T22:34:05","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T02:34:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/hla\/sites\/yardandgarden\/?p=9468"},"modified":"2025-09-30T15:10:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T19:10:28","slug":"remove-errant-branches-to-save-weird-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/hla\/sites\/yardandgarden\/remove-errant-branches-to-save-weird-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"Remove errant branches to save \u2018weird\u2019 tree"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dwarf spruce branch reverting back to \u201cnormal\u201d size.<\/em>
Photo Credit: J.K., St. John, Indiana<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Q:<\/strong>\u00a0Please don\u2019t think I\u2019m totally crazy, but I couldn\u2019t get anyone around here to answer this question and I thought someone at Purdue could. I have two trees in my backyard that are growing branches that are completely different from the rest of the trees. It is NOT another tree coming up under them, which is what most people tell me. Am I correct in guessing this is a cultivar that went wrong?<\/p>\n

Do we cut them both down and start over, or can we just cut off the branches that do not match? I hate cutting down trees but honestly, this looks VERY weird sitting next to my house. \u2013 J.K., St. John, Indiana<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong>\u00a0This is a great photo. What\u2019s happening to your trees is not really a rare occurrence. You are indeed on the right track. These are dwarf cultivars that are reverting back to what is the normal growth for the species.<\/p>\n

Dwarf evergreens such as yours are usually selected from a plant that showed a mutation\/genetic variation from the species. Sometimes this is a dwarf habit such as your plant.\u00a0In other cultivars, it could be a unique color variegation in foliage or flowers, twisted leaves, weeping habit, etc.<\/p>\n

The plant in your photo appears to be a dwarf Alberta spruce.\u00a0The best approach is to prune out the errant branches, the sooner the better.\u00a0In addition to the larger branch habit, they tend to be more vigorous and can take over the plant. It is best to remove the branch by cutting back as close to the point of origin without damaging the main trunk. The plant may continue to send these out from time to time, so keep after them.<\/p>\n

Here are a few articles that we\u2019ve published on this very subject. You can see you are in good company!<\/p>\n