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My new evergreen was about 4 feet tall. Deer ripped the top half out of it. Is it ruined beyond hope?

Stephie
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PamD6
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1 Answers1

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It will take a long time before it looks like a tree that did not have damage. If you have the patience and time for a little bit of observation you can have a tree with a good structure

Evergreens have strong apical dominance. They want to have a leader. What frequently happens is that you get more then one shoot coming out of the top of the stalk. They are frequently poorly attached and can come off many years later under wind or snow.

  • cut the top of the tree back to just above the highest live growth
  • in the spring when growth is the strongest make sure that only one branch points upwards. Cut the rest off cleanly
  • repeat yearly in the spring as required
kevinskio
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