Anyone With Birds Nest Spruce?

[sorce]

Is that the whole depth of those pots?
Nice.

If I was in front of them, I would be searching for signs that "smart tree theory" is true.

Of course, overall health plays a hard to factor role, so this is easier verified pre repot, or when they are all on a more similar playing field, but taking these differences into account while pondering can prove insightful.

I thoroughly believe humans are the least efficient creatures on earth. Odd because we are the most efficient at adapting, which leads to supreme inefficiency when we have adapted and "are surviving".
In that I believe it is impossible for us to fathom the efficiency of a tree.

When looking through this lens it's easier to see.

A tree with a full perfect canopy didn't get there because it had a perfect life, this is impossible on earth.
It ended up with a perfect canopy after many years because they are all preprogrammed to get that way.

So some rules of "smart tree theory" are...

All Gaps will be Filled.
They know the real estate they own, so if they aren't filling it, it's due to other factors effecting perfect efficiency.

Perfect Efficiency.
"You had one job"...a tree has one job, to reproduce in it's preprogrammed extent of allowed real estate. It always does this with perfect efficiency.

This is answering the questions I end up with, after seeing person A and person B do, "the same thing", but get different results.
I believe the one true answer lies here.

So when person A and person B both prune off a three fork and only one gets backbuds...
We think the tree gives a shit about our "design" when it does or doesn't backbud, so when we mock it, "you had one job", to backbud for our design, it's response is, "sorry, that's not the most efficient way to achieve my actual one job".

So I want to prune in a manner that gives it one most efficient path to the very design I want.

This is the Ultimate example of "working with a tree".

There is so much less to question, yet so much left to question.

Sorce

P.S. important note.....
Our Patience needs to be equal to that of the time it takes a tree to reach perfect occupancy of predetermined real estate, and everytime we interrupt, it takes that much longer.

Time is Pretend, because if you believe in it, you will come to the human realization that you don't have enough of it and try to cut corners.

 

[sorce]

have removed foliage entirely from branches in readiness for jinning but haven’t got round to stripping the bark and masses of new shoots have sprouted all down the branch.

Many factors adding up there to completely put the "you can't cut back to nothing" thing to rest.

Makes me hate "it depends", so cheap, let's not stop there, let's get deep, depends on what!?

The answer can fork as many times as a 400 YO trident maple and I'd be happy to follow them all.

Sorce

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

Many factors adding up there to completely put the "you can't cut back to nothing" thing to rest.

Makes me hate "it depends", so cheap, let's not stop there, let's get deep, depends on what!?

The answer can fork as many times as a 400 YO trident maple and I'd be happy to follow them all.

Sorce

I feel like trying them again. I was looking at them at Home Depot and can get one for $12

You got any tips for keeping a Scandinavian tree alive in the American southwest? Yee haw

Can I just keep in morning only sun and it should be fine with the heat? Humidity tray?

Or if it will be too much work to keep it alive during 110F summer spells, just be honest

 

[sorce]

I feel like trying them again. I was looking at them at Home Depot and can get one for $12

You got any tips for keeping a Scandinavian tree alive in the American southwest? Yee haw

Can I just keep in morning only sun and it should be fine with the heat? Humidity tray?

Or if it will be too much work to keep it alive during 110F summer spells, just be honest

I learned from the Walter Camp that spruce need a *more constantly wet surface in order to remain vigorous.
Not *more than your climate, more than other conifers, it's a slight challenge I think you can manage.

Sorce

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

I feel like trying them again. I was looking at them at Home Depot and can get one for $12

You got any tips for keeping a Scandinavian tree alive in the American southwest? Yee haw

Can I just keep in morning only sun and it should be fine with the heat? Humidity tray?

Or if it will be too much work to keep it alive during 110F summer spells, just be honest

I think the dryness/heat may be too much for spruce, but you never know. I have a larch in a bonsai pot in zone 7a that barely had any issues here last summer.

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

I learned from the Walter Camp that spruce need a *more constantly wet surface in order to remain vigorous.
Not *more than your climate, more than other conifers, it's a slight challenge I think you can manage.

Sorce

Maybe a few bits of mulch… wrap the pot too to keep it from getting too hot

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

I think the dryness/heat may be too much for spruce, but you never know. I have a larch in a bonsai pot in zone 7a that barely had any issues here last summer.

I guess at $12, it’s worth a shot. If I do my absolute best and it still goes belly up, well I guess it’s a cheap lesson that they don’t work here

How can Home Depot have so many in stock? They have to die even in ground…

 

[sorce]

How can Home Depot have so many in stock? They have to die even in ground…

I reckon this IS the backend solution to a stocking problem that includes not giving a shit about the consumer.

A while back I had a shitload of Nana's here from Florida, we don't get them from there anymore.

If shipping them outside the zone is still less expensive than the loss from folks knowing not to buy them, they'll do it, and return it if it dies within that first year, cuz they know you'll just spend more $ in other shit when you go in again.

Keep the receipt. Beat the system.

Sorce

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

I reckon this IS the backend solution to a stocking problem that includes not giving a shit about the consumer.

A while back I had a shitload of Nana's here from Florida, we don't get them from there anymore.

If shipping them outside the zone is still less expensive than the loss from folks knowing not to buy them, they'll do it, and return it if it dies within that first year, cuz they know you'll just spend more $ in other shit when you go in again.

Keep the receipt. Beat the system.

Sorce

I wish I had a way to have a cooling greenhouse or something. Then I’d be able to have a lot more material that could deal with our colds and protect them from our heat

Alas, I have no such space available to me…

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Keep the receipt.

Always! For so many reasons.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

I feel like trying them again. I was looking at them at Home Depot and can get one for $12

You got any tips for keeping a Scandinavian tree alive in the American southwest? Yee haw

Can I just keep in morning only sun and it should be fine with the heat? Humidity tray?

Or if it will be too much work to keep it alive during 110F summer spells, just be honest

Terra Cotta pots will help to cool the roots through transpiration

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

Terra Cotta pots will help to cool the roots through transpiration

I’ll look into that!

 

[sorce]

I wish I had a way to have a cooling greenhouse or something. Then I’d be able to have a lot more material that could deal with our colds and protect them from our heat

Alas, I have no such space available to me…

How SW are you?

Don't know if you were ever introduced to our friend @mile_high , (this may be another that's not showing in the autogenerated pull down @screen but you may be able to click the link to find his info) he was in Vegas and has typed very observant information about keeping things cool in the desert.

Sorce

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

How SW are you?

Don't know if you were ever introduced to our friend @mile_high , (this may be another that's not showing in the autogenerated pull down @screen but you may be able to click the link to find his info) he was in Vegas and has typed very observant information about keeping things cool in the desert.

Sorce

I think I’ve seen that username before

 

[sorce]

I think I’ve seen that username before

Ee...unclickable! Bogus.

Basically, he was the one sourcing that bigger DE to keep the mixes real airy, since he was otherwise boiling things.

Make it work!

Sorce

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

Ee...unclickable! Bogus.

Basically, he was the one sourcing that bigger DE to keep the mixes real airy, since he was otherwise boiling things.

Make it work!

Sorce

We got a NAPA in town. I was debating going and grabbing some 8822. Maybe try it 1:1 with pumice

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Did some styling today. Branches are not in the right spot, wiring technique stinks, and the style is kind of meh, but I like it!
Before and after:

 

[p_anova]

Just picked up a birds eye from a nursery yesterday. He gave me 20% off on my entire order since I convinced him that I was buying his older undesirable stock. I uncovered a huge trunk. Cleaned out the interior a little to let light in and seems like the branching is solid. Any ideas on where to go from here? I successfully sent one to the reaper last year. It is on top of a cheap charcoal grill for scale.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

Just picked up a birds eye from a nursery yesterday. He gave me 20% off on my entire order since I convinced him that I was buying his older undesirable stock. I uncovered a huge trunk. Cleaned out the interior a little to let light in and seems like the branching is solid. Any ideas on where to go from here? I successfully sent one to the reaper last year. It is on top of a cheap charcoal grill for scale.

Great tree, great negotiating, and great job cleaning it out! It is too late to get it out of nursery soil, so I would just water carefully and manage the strength this season.

 

[p_anova]

Great tree, great negotiating, and great job cleaning it out! It is too late to get it out of nursery soil, so I would just water carefully and manage the strength this season.

I suppose repot early spring next year but I could do some light styling in the fall?