A few other name experiments.

Tycoss

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I recently posted my cotoneaster mame experiments. Here are a few other species I’m playing with for tiny bonsai:
 

Tycoss

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First is a little nailwort, paronychia sessiflora. It’s not really a bonsai, as it’s not woody and doesn’t really have “trainable” foliage, but I think it gives a pretty good impression of a distant weeping juniper on a cliff, as I sometimes see J. Horozontalis do in the badlands. I’ve had it for over three years, though I’m not sure exactly:DFD989FD-17FB-4F22-A03A-FC9798D1E0FE.jpeg01C6D175-1003-42C9-BAF7-A526A754A21E.jpeg
It has tiny yellow flowers in late summer.
 

Tycoss

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My wife recently remarked that it seems all my big pre bonsai are spruce and all my little ones are cotoneasters (she is not partial to either). So now I have two big cotoneasters and some little spruce too. Here is the smallest spruce. It came from the mountains, my son really wanted it. It has an interesting old wound and a neat windswept thing happening. Still way over potted, half bare rooted this spring:E1C150A5-D843-4D22-8E34-D138B82B460C.jpeg7B681A44-F6DA-4791-A17E-D1ACB7576564.jpeg3B227272-20EE-4E9A-A31D-99B02A3FF1B8.jpeg
I could either leave it windswept and remove the upright part, or cut to the upright part and grow it from there for taper. Thoughts?
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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I had to look up the nailwort, Paronychia sessiflora, that was a new one for me. Related to chickweeds, in the Caryophyllales, the same family as beets, cactus and carnations. Interesting, a fair number of herbs can make interesting bonsai, even though they don't have true wood with growth rings and such. Neat. Nice experiment.

I really like your spruce. For the time being, I would keep all the branches. Sometime late summer I would prune all the new candles back to a bud. Each new growth will have a bud or two form along its length. Right now they will be too small to see. But by the end of summer you should be able to see them. Prune all your new growth to these buds, roughly cutting most of the new growth by half. This will prevent excessive elongation, and force some back budding. It will help get more dense foliage going. Do this for a few more years, then see if you really want to remove any of the major branches. I "kinda" like it just as it is.
 

Tycoss

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I had to look up the nailwort, Paronychia sessiflora, that was a new one for me. Related to chickweeds, in the Caryophyllales, the same family as beets, cactus and carnations. Interesting, a fair number of herbs can make interesting bonsai, even though they don't have true wood with growth rings and such. Neat. Nice experiment.

I really like your spruce. For the time being, I would keep all the branches. Sometime late summer I would prune all the new candles back to a bud. Each new growth will have a bud or two form along its length. Right now they will be too small to see. But by the end of summer you should be able to see them. Prune all your new growth to these buds, roughly cutting most of the new growth by half. This will prevent excessive elongation, and force some back budding. It will help get more dense foliage going. Do this for a few more years, then see if you really want to remove any of the major branches. I "kinda" like it just as it is.
What you describe for shoot reduction is pretty much what I do with my larger spruce. I wanted this one to adjust a bit longer than my big guys, as it didn’t get as vigorous as fast. I think it’s pretty healthy now, so I’ll start reducing new growth in August like I do for the others. Thanks for your interest.
 
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