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Registered FedEx Sender
Join Date: Jan-2004
Location: Ottawa, KS
Country: USA
Posts: 1,677
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Antonio,
Coming into fall as you are, now is the good time to clean up the tree and ready it for its winter rest.
To that end, it's time to get rid of old needles. There should not be any three year old needles on the tree, and it's now time to get rid of the two year old needles as well.
You have old needles in the areas I have circled in red. All those can go. For those who are not sure how to tell two year old needles from this year's needles, the second photo is a good example. The candles had been cut on these two branches, and the new growth with shorter needles are considered this year's needles, the ones circled in red are last year's.
The best way to get rid of these is with a good pair of Masakuni tweezers. You can cut them if you wish, but just be aware you don't want buds all over these branches. We need to restrain the top of this tree, not encourage it.
When pulling the needles, grasp the fascicle with the blunt tips of the tweezers, grip well, and pull away from the trunk. In other words, pull in the direction the needle is growing. Pulling backward can damage the bark.
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