Christmas Tree

[langara]

We have a Norway Spruce in our front garden planted by previous owners which is getting very large, does anyone know if and how we can trim it back to managable size, my husband wants to take chain saw to it, but I have put my foot down as he will ruin it and it really is a nice tree, just to big. Thanks

[johnk]

It can be done but it's not cheap.

[AlBags]

Cheap?
A chainsaw will cut down in 20 seconds!

If you trim any branch foliage back past green stuff .. that area may not recover.
So light trimming is the norm.
As for branches .. I take it lopping off all lower branches flush to trunk is out of the question?

[rowanwitch]

I'd always consider thinning the branches rather than cutting them back wih a tree like this... you would end up with a lighter look and taking some of the lower branches would mean you could grow things like epimediums, and bulbs underneath