How To Create a Spiral Topiary

[@Bobby.2728]

Since 9 months i am finding a way to give shape to my ficus plant, finally now i got it.
Than you so much.
LOVE FROM INDIA 🙏

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Great, thanks for watching

[@mimimd9652]

I've watched this video several times and it's the best one I've found for creating a spiral topiary! I have a 9' tall 16 year old Alberta Spruce, that is in full sun. My plan is to trim it over time. It's on the southwest side of my home and it's near my hose, so it gets plenty of water. Thanks for sharing this video!

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Glad it was helpful! Good luck!

[@paix1234]

Beautiful. Excellent tutorial. Thank you.

[@HoaNguyen-re9zn]

Il love the way you put the ribbon on the tree, It’s easy than any other way. Thanks

[@GardenGateMagazine]

So glad you found the technique helpful!

[@tictaktotiki]

fabulous video, no annoying chatter, just good information, i am scanning my garden, wishing i had a tree i could do this to. doesnt look hopeful, just some big old camelias, still flowering, so that wont work.
I have subscribed to see what other clever ideas you have. thank you.

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Glad it was helpful!

[@karenschwartz5209]

So nice to see how you go about doing this. Thanks!

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rashidat1009]

Thank you for posting this. I have a spiral bush and couldn't find how to properly shape it until now.

[@GardenGateMagazine]

We are glad you found it helpful!

[@troybowman221]

You are awesome!! Thank you for a great presentation and making it look so easy even though I know it's not.

[@GardenGateMagazine]

You are so welcome!

[@Jcroffe]

I just finished doing 4 today, They look amazing! Thanks

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Wonderful! Thanks for watching.

[@RM-rc1wr]

Thanks for some great ideas and information! 👍

[@MrChipathenIsMyDoggo]

Thank you so much for this!!! I want a spiral topiary so badly but they’re like $200!! 😱 I just found some great arborvitae at Walmart for $13 👏🏻 I needed this video!! 💗

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Excellent. Good luck and thanks for watching!

[@Godwinpounds4333]

P

[@Godwinpounds4333]

Hello shandy how are you doing?

[@angelabrownfield6081]

Thank you. I did your technique and it turned out great. I wished I had filmed it.

[@GardenGateMagazine]

So glad to hear! Happy it worked out.

[@hillfab8687]

Thank you so much for this video. I have been trying to find a way to fix my bushes and make them look like a topiary tree.

[@hillfab8687]

You are the only video I could find, and you explained it so well.

[@GardenGateMagazine]

@@hillfab8687 so glad it was helpful!

[@socialservice576]

Thank you for the great work

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thanks for watching!

[@dubcindub15]

That is sooo much better explained than the last time I watched a spiral topiary video! I get it now, my little 4ft beachballs are turning into an anti clockwise spiral, and a clockwise spiral as soon as the sun comes up and my dog is fed :D

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Great! Good luck!

[@amandaa5104]

Looks really pretty...Thanks for the helpful tips.

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thanks for watching!

[@leticiab.423]

Thank you so is much! They are so expensive already formed. This I am definitely going to try.

[@GardenGateMagazine]

You are so welcome!

[@nancyduhalde4679]

Thank you for this; very helpful!

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thanks for watching!

[@timothygardner2974]

Thank you! You gave me the nerves to do this!

[@GardenGateMagazine]

You can do it! Thanks for watching.

[@KatherineTheGr8t]

That spruce looks fantastic!!! Wow! Once we all start going back to 'Flower & Garden' shows maybe you could sell your services. $100 for a 5' Arb in 15 mins seems like a good rate of pay, especially if you could make multiple Topiaries of the same tree/perennial. Great job Katie, personally I am too worried about my messing up to do it on my own, but I sure do enjoy them : D (and I dislike watching a specific person XVader who says she will show how to do it but conveniently skips over the more sensitive cuts.) Katie, I'll look around and see what else you have out there in CZcams Land - I know I will be enlightened, Thank You!

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thanks for watching

[@unarbolunavida6636]

MARAVILLOSO TRABAJO, FELICITACIONES.

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thanks for watching

[@narinderchoranji4677]

Brilliant ❤thank you

[@megmc5683]

Yes, you have inspired me to try!

[@GardenGateMagazine]

You can do it!

[@gloriacarmona7784]

your advice were very useful for my plants . thanks!!

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Glad it helped!

[@Godwinpounds4333]

Hello 👋how are you doing?

[@kittydenaro3655]

❤thank you❤️

[@noelined.v7731]

Love it!! ❤

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Glad you like it!

[@iamaw30]

Thanks! Can you trim any time of the year or only a fall/spring trim?

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Spring is the best time to do any heavy trimming and shaping, but light trimming would also be fine in summer. Just note that pruning can cause stress on a plant in extreme heat. Pruning triggers new growth, so avoid pruning a month or so before your first frost date to avoid zapping tender new growth with cold temperatures. Hope this helps!

[@dargon2001]

Muitíssimo obrigado por partilhar seu conhecimento

[@cynthiacisneros1694]

Thank you❣️

[@GardenGateMagazine]

You’re welcome 😊

[@deborahmuhammad7574]

amazing!!! I feel like I can do this.

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Go for it!

[@step69step69]

very useful thank you

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Glad it was helpful!

[@6brad9]

I never bother with the ribbon love doing these start with a scruffy plant now my garden full of these all different shapes. Work in a holiday home park. people let their plants get pot bound throw them out so I save them iv never bought a plant

[@nadinebm9513]

Thanks for sharing. Gave me confidence and made me just do it👍👏👏💟

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Great news! let us know how it goes.

[@michaelbryant6789]

Good job

[@graceontheyork1424]

Good job!

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thank you! Thanks for watching.

[@chefchutardo5215]

could i do the 'bulk cutting' with an electric trimmer. And then finish with some small cutters ? would help with my patience, lol

[@GardenGateMagazine]

I bet that would work.

[@wandachristopher5752]

Can I use a regular already planted hedge ? My son just recently bought his first home and he loves the topiary shape .

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Yes, it should work for existing plant material

[@RM-rc1wr]

Would it work for a wider more mature Alberta spruce? I'm thinking the spirals might sag...😱

[@dabigdikdangler]

I do spirals on 10 foot tall shrubs in my yard with electric hedge clippers and no guide

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Nice!

[@dcrcort]

some videos show to cut where you place the ribbon and not inbetween the ribbon. Is there a diff between the two??

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Either method works fine! The main idea is that the ribbon helps as a visual guide. So whichever you feel most comfortable with 🙂

[@tracylozano1637]

I have a small one, do you suggest waiting for it to grow to taller size before trimming to a spiral?

[@GardenGateMagazine]

You can start small and trimming to shape as it grows.

[@hobbitlady7568]

Awesome ❤️

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thanks 🤗

[@carmyp77]

Ciao.. Ogni quanto tempo si può effettuare la potatura su un cipresso laylandi per non perdere la forma a spirale? Grazie

[@GardenGateMagazine]

After initial prune, you can continually do light pruning to keep spiral in good shape. Thanks for watching

[@BabyNicosMommy]

I’d like to do this on a spruce I have 8n the front of n6 home. It gets shade along the back so it’s got some die back on that side. Would this look good with it a 1/3 dead? Can I do this now in zine 7b or wait till spring?

[@GardenGateMagazine]

It might work OK. Probably best to wait until spring

[@riparanimoshahary7024]

beautiful 😍

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thank you! 😊

[@rheaadams1437]

How long can you leave this tree in a pot? It's beautiful. And how do you deal with the plant if the tree has two trunks in the beginning?

[@GardenGateMagazine]

They can stay in the pots indefinitely (bigger is better!) but you might have to pull the plant out and do some root pruning and repot every 2-3 years to keep the tree healthy.
If there are two trunks, choose the stronger of the two to act as your main trunk for the topiary.
Hope that helps, thanks for watching!

[@rheaadams1437]

@@GardenGateMagazine Awesome! Thank you.

[@marianreyes9099]

Can this be done on any size Alberta Spruce? Mine is quite old and large.

[@charnisebonds3424]

Same question???

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Yes it can

[@GardenGateMagazine]

@@charnisebonds3424 Yes it can

[@patricklall4433]

nice job. cool video.

[@GardenTatsiana]

😊❤super 😮

[@redgesnook3916]

How big do a sprinkler tree get

[@suzanneh2348]

Looks great, would a buxus be suitable please? 🌳

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Yes

[@DdDten]

Could this be done to lemon cypress?

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Yep! Lemon cypress make good topiary candidates.

[@benstarbeatz]

nice you deserve my sub

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thanks for the sub

[@davidricardo1349]

Hello! very beautiful, but what is the name of this tree? if you were so kind as to tell me

[@GardenGateMagazine]

It is a dwarf Alberta spruce. Thanks for watching.

[@nancyavery8134]

Could not understand some of the words she was saying. What did she say about where the ribbon was? I have some large Alberta Spruce so I was interested in how to save them since some have dead branches so I was going to try to turn them into topiary shapes but was cautious in cutting these dead branches out to the trunk. I see a lot of these trees in big box stores with dead branches and was thinking I could to get these discounted and practice on turning them into something salvageable and beautiful?

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Hi Nancy! Where you lay the ribbon is where the spiral will be, and you will cut in between creating "gutters" to create the shape. Laying out the ribbon can be a little tricky, but worth taking the time to get how you want it so you have a nice guide when you start cutting! We have more helpful details on the how-to process on our website here: www.gardengatemagazine.com/articles/projects/all/how-to-create-a-spiral-topiary/
I think grabbing a discounted tree at a garden center to get some practice is a great idea!

[@emptynestgardens9057]

I've got a 20+ yr old Alberta S that I'd like to spiral this Spring. Should I do it early before it starts new growth or after new growth has come in? This is the best instructional video on this topic I've been able to find in the last 4 months of looking. Thank you so much!

[@gregevans6741]

Can this be done any time of the year?

[@GardenGateMagazine]

After pruning to the spiral shape, you’ll get lots of new growth, so it is best to do it in the spring so that growth has a season to harden off. If you do it too late in the summer or fall, any new shoots that sprout are likely to be nipped or damaged with freezing temperatures in the winter. Hope this helps.

[@FixItYerself]

nice !

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thanks!

[@christineribone9351]

Its beautiful, but I would have a problem in changing its natural shape. It's a personal thing.😊

[@GardenGateMagazine]

That's fair! Topiary is an interesting art

[@colenorth4893]

What kind of plant is that?

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Dwarf Alberta Spruce

[@zozozaza5670]

hermoso

[@Astrobiologica]

If your right handed where a glove on your left hand ! I accidentally sliced my left pinky finger tip while doing this with snips 😬😬😬😬😬

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Good tip! Sorry you learned it the hard way!

[@rozariocrosta9142]

Can you please tell me the name of that plant?

[@GardenGateMagazine]

It's Dwarf Alberta spruce, Picea glauca albertiana 'Conica'. Other plants that work well are Boxwood, Italian cypress and Privet.

[@StephanieFink515]

👍

[@madhavijoshi6937]

please name that plant please

[@GardenGateMagazine]

It's Dwarf Alberta spruce, Picea glauca albertiana 'Conica'. Other plants that work well are Boxwood, Italian cypress and Privet.

[@jeaniehines3463]

Looks like scrooge

[@PVPEEP22SAAAN]

Wow u destroyed it

[@GardenGateMagazine]

Thanks 👍

[@greenryplants]

@greenryplants 🤩