diff --git a/configure_polaris_envs.py b/configure_polaris_envs.py
index c4125d1c7..43318b924 100755
--- a/configure_polaris_envs.py
+++ b/configure_polaris_envs.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def setup_install_env(env_name, activate_base, use_local, logger, recreate,
         channels = '--use-local'
     else:
         channels = ''
-    packages = f'progressbar2 jinja2 {mache}'
+    packages = f'jinja2 {mache} packaging progressbar2'
     if recreate or not os.path.exists(env_path):
         print('Setting up a conda environment for installing polaris\n')
         commands = f'{activate_base} && ' \
diff --git a/deploy/bootstrap.py b/deploy/bootstrap.py
index 24b70355a..a223bb1ed 100755
--- a/deploy/bootstrap.py
+++ b/deploy/bootstrap.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 from mache import MachineInfo
 from mache import discover_machine as mache_discover_machine
 from mache.spack import get_spack_script, make_spack_env
+from packaging import version
 from shared import (
     check_call,
     get_conda_base,
@@ -210,7 +211,9 @@ def get_env_setup(args, config, machine, compiler, mpi, env_type, source_path,
         check_supported('petsc', machine, compiler, mpi, source_path)
 
     if env_type == 'dev':
-        spack_env = f'dev_polaris_{polaris_version}{env_suffix}'
+        ver = version.parse(polaris_version)
+        release_version = '.'.join(str(vr) for vr in ver.release)
+        spack_env = f'dev_polaris_{release_version}{env_suffix}'
     elif env_type == 'test_release':
         spack_env = f'test_polaris_{polaris_version}{env_suffix}'
     else:
diff --git a/docs/developers_guide/deploying_spack.md b/docs/developers_guide/deploying_spack.md
index 7d11d3652..55ffdbf59 100644
--- a/docs/developers_guide/deploying_spack.md
+++ b/docs/developers_guide/deploying_spack.md
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ If system modules change in E3SM, we try to stay in sync:
 - pnetcdf
 - mkl (or other linear algebra libs)
 
+When we update the `mache` version in Polaris, we also need to bump the
+Polaris version (typically either the major or the minor version) and then
+re-deploy shared spack environments on each supported machine.
+
 ### Spack
 
 Spack is for libraries used by MPAS and tools that need system MPI:
@@ -25,6 +29,10 @@ Spack is for libraries used by MPAS and tools that need system MPI:
 - PETSc
 - Netlib LAPACK
 
+When we update the versions of any of these libraries in Polaris, we also need
+to bump the Polaris version (typically either the major or the minor version)
+and then re-deploy shared spack environments on each supported machine.
+
 ### Conda
 
 Conda (via conda-forge) is used for python packages and related dependencies
@@ -32,6 +40,10 @@ that don’t need system MPI. Conda environments aren’t shared between
 developers because the polaris you’re developing is part of the conda
 environment.
 
+When we update the constraints on conda dependencies, we also need to bump the
+Polaris alpha, beta or rc version.  We do not need to re-deploy spack
+environments on share machines because they remain unaffected.
+
 ## Mache
 
 A brief tour of mache.
@@ -100,14 +112,18 @@ by polaris.  Here, we will use `<fork>` as a stand-in for the fork of mache
 to use (e.g. `E3SM-Project/mache`) and `<branch>` as the stand-in for a branch on
 that fork (e.g. `main`).
 
-We also need to make sure there is a spack branch for the version of mache.
-This is a branch off of the develop branch on
+We also need to make sure there is a spack branch for the version of Polaris.
+The spack branch is a branch off of the develop branch on
 [E3SM’s spack repo](https://github.com/E3SM-Project/spack) that has any
-updates to packages required for this version of mache and polaris. The
-spack branch will omit any alpha, beta or rc suffix on the mache version
-because it is intended to be the spack branch we will use once the `mache`
-release happens.  In this example, we will work with the branch
+uupdates to packages required for this version of mache.  The remote branch
+is named after the release version of mache (omitting any alpha, beta or rc
+suffix because it is intended to be the spack branch we will use once the
+``mache`` release happens).  In this example, we will work with the branch
 [spack_for_mache_1.12.0](https://github.com/E3SM-Project/spack/tree/spack_for_mache_1.12.0).
+The local clone is instead named after the Polaris version (again any omitting
+alpha, beta or rc) plus the compiler and MPI library because we have discovered
+two users cannot make modifications to the same git clone.  Giving each clone
+of the spack branch a unique name ensures that they are independent.
 
 Here's how to get a branch of polaris we're testing (`simplify_local_mache`
 in this case) as a local worktree: