Picea Abies (Dwarf Norway Spruce)

Not sure if I started a thread on this little guy....I did post it in another thread, but I decided to make it's own!
It's a Home Depot find from last year.
I cut it into shape in October '16 and that was all.
This year, I intended on repotting it but I missed my window of opportunity, got all the other trees done. But this one stayed on the back burner....no worries, it's doing fine.
Here are pics from last fall:





I didn't do any root work as of yet...still in the original nursery soil which is still very free draining. Just topped with bonsai soil to keep birds out...
I don't have any pics of it before it's recent trimming, but the spring growth was strong, all over.
I decided to cut off the very strong shoots at the end of each branch, in an attempt to balance the trees vigor.
A week after doing that, dormant buds are breaking back in the branches, which is awesome!
(I have a second one of these trees that is very similar but I decided not to do any spring trimming on that one, just to try slightly different techniques on each tree, and learn as much as I can from it.)
So here are some pics from today, about 2 weeks after the springtime trim:





Long way to go, but a good start I think.
(My other one will get a trimming after the new growth has hardened off, and I'll compare next year's spring growth.)

Very nice Spruce!

ant888 said:

Very nice Spruce!

Click to expand...

Thank you!

and you said you got this from Home Depot, correct?

ant888 said:

and you said you got this from Home Depot, correct?

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Yep. That first picture is how they looked.

Interesting, that price is quite a steal if you ask me

More buds opening!
Just wanted to get a few pics for you guys...
Some close ups. Almost one month since the last pics.
This thing is gonna get dense this year.
Should provide good branch selection in winter....

Hello there! Nice bonsai! Hey this may not be the right place to ask this, but I'm new and cannot find where to post a new thread. But I'm looking to start my own first bonsai tree and just wanted to ask some general questions if that's cool? Like if I go to home depot or lowes to buy a tree, what tree do you think is a good one for a first timer/beginner like myself? I would really like to do some kind of maple tree if that isn't to hard or anything?? And also does lowes or home depot sale the grit/soil/ whatever else I would need to get this first bonsai up and going? Once again sorry if I'm intruding on your thread I'm just looking for a little bit of advice, thanks

Derek T. Shank said:

Hello there! Nice bonsai! Hey this may not be the right place to ask this, but I'm new and cannot find where to post a new thread. But I'm looking to start my own first bonsai tree and just wanted to ask some general questions if that's cool? Like if I go to home depot or lowes to buy a tree, what tree do you think is a good one for a first timer/beginner like myself? I would really like to do some kind of maple tree if that isn't to hard or anything?? And also does lowes or home depot sale the grit/soil/ whatever else I would need to get this first bonsai up and going? Once again sorry if I'm intruding on your thread I'm just looking for a little bit of advice, thanks

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Well, as far as a good species for a first tree, I'd say something that is notoriously difficult to kill, like Elm or (in my experience) Yew.
Maples are also pretty tough trees, but the ones at box stores are all grafted and too expensive, for me.
I'd suggest getting a few different plants and just get good at keeping them alive, then you can work on creating bonsai with them...
As far as soil components, I order on line most of the time. I've never seen anything worthwhile there, except for perlite, which is a good component to have, generally.
Also, read bonsai books and read here on the forum...
Welcome!

Nice tree dude looks natutal cool !
I bought a spruce too today different variety tough

So, that new growth got some sunburn...
That was the second flush of growth after a trimming this spring....
It has been trying to push out a third flush after the sun damage.....not looking good, we'll see what happens next....
I do have one more of these little trees that didn't get burned...but I like this one more! Hope it pulls through!

just.wing.it said:

sunburn

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?

Water?

I don't believe in sunburn.....

Keep em soaked!

I keep my spruces on wet.
Like you ain't "supposed to".

Sorce

sorce said:

?

Water?

I don't believe in sunburn.....

Keep em soaked!

I keep my spruces on wet.
Like you ain't "supposed to".

Sorce

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Yep.
It happened the same day as all my shit got burned....maples, hornbeams...
The other spruce didn't burn because I had not pruned that one yet.
This growth was too tender...

They stay well hydrated

just.wing.it said:

Yep.
It happened the same day as all my shit got burned....maples, hornbeams...
The other spruce didn't burn because I had not pruned that one yet.
This growth was too tender...

They stay well hydrated

Click to expand...

Still don't believe it!

Sorce

Hi Mike! Found this thread on a search I had to tweak. Searched the one I got today, piece Abies Little Gem no results.
Then dwarf Norway Spruce got a few hits. The Little Gem is, well let me just paste the quote from
http://conifersociety.org/conifers/conifer/picea/abies/little-gem/
"This cultivar originated as a witch’s broom that developed in the late 1950s on a specimen of Picea abies ‘Nidiformis’, the Bird’s Nest spruce, which itself was a witch’s broom that had been found on a Norway spruce. F.J. Grootendorst and Sons Nursery of Boskoop the Netherlands is credited with the broom’s discovery, nomination and introduction to the nursery trade."

Your Nidiformis seems a bit more vigorous perhaps? Do you know the growth rate? What I found at that link is 1-6"/yr
where the Little Gem is <1"/yr and <12" after 10 yrs. The foliage is so short and dense that removal will be painstakingly slow
and still, will probably remove some advantageous branches by accident.

just.wing.it said:

So, that new growth got some sunburn...
That was the second flush of growth after a trimming this spring....
It has been trying to push out a third flush after the sun damage.....not looking good, we'll see what happens next....
I do have one more of these little trees that didn't get burned...but I like this one more! Hope it pulls through!

Click to expand...

Before I read on, my 1st thought was that the dense habit of this plant, now thinned
was too much to handle in full Sun. Then as I read on, in the link above that I posted
this stood out...
"Bob Fincham, ACS founder and owner of Coenosium Gardens,
cautions that hot summer days can burn holes in larger plants.
I have also seen this on potted nursery plants of all sizes during their early years of establishment in a nursery bed.
To prevent this from happening, a location with some shade during the mid-day is beneficial."

I believe I will be providing shade from afternoon on for mine.
In fact, my dwarf yew, Taxus Emerald Spreader, with somewhat similar form, but a bit wider needles, does well in shade or part Sun.

How did this one of yours fair the scald?
Any accomplishments with the others yet?

Japonicus said:

Before I read on, my 1st thought was that the dense habit of this plant, now thinned
was too much to handle in full Sun. Then as I read on, in the link above that I posted
this stood out...
"Bob Fincham, ACS founder and owner of Coenosium Gardens,
cautions that hot summer days can burn holes in larger plants.
I have also seen this on potted nursery plants of all sizes during their early years of establishment in a nursery bed.
To prevent this from happening, a location with some shade during the mid-day is beneficial."

I believe I will be providing shade from afternoon on for mine.
In fact, my dwarf yew, Taxus Emerald Spreader, with somewhat similar form, but a bit wider needles, does well in shade or part Sun.

How did this one of yours fair the scald?
Any accomplishments with the others yet?

Click to expand...

It died...I've managed to kill all 3 spruces I've played with....

just.wing.it said:

It died...I've managed to kill all 3 spruces I've played with....

Click to expand...

This sucks. Sorry to hear. Is there a common time frame you worked the roots? Foliage on these 3?

Japonicus said:

Hi Mike! Found this thread on a search I had to tweak. Searched the one I got today, piece Abies Little Gem no results.
Then dwarf Norway Spruce got a few hits. The Little Gem is, well let me just paste the quote from
http://conifersociety.org/conifers/conifer/picea/abies/little-gem/
"This cultivar originated as a witch’s broom that developed in the late 1950s on a specimen of Picea abies ‘Nidiformis’, the Bird’s Nest spruce, which itself was a witch’s broom that had been found on a Norway spruce. F.J. Grootendorst and Sons Nursery of Boskoop the Netherlands is credited with the broom’s discovery, nomination and introduction to the nursery trade."

Your Nidiformis seems a bit more vigorous perhaps? Do you know the growth rate? What I found at that link is 1-6"/yr
where the Little Gem is <1"/yr and <12" after 10 yrs. The foliage is so short and dense that removal will be painstakingly slow
and still, will probably remove some advantageous branches by accident.

Click to expand...

Little gem is actually a “sport” of Nidiformis (birds nest spruce). Meaning little gem was a mutation found on and propagated from birds best spruce! So you could say they are closely related in a way, though little gem is kind of an ultra dwarf variety. I have two little gems that i’m wirking in right now.

just.wing.it said:

It died...I've managed to kill all 3 spruces I've played with....

Click to expand...

Did you attempt to repot the tree or did it die before you got to that stage? I’m starting to find, particularly with nursery conifers, that the safest route is to repot first, before you prune much of anything off. And then style a year or two down the road. I also have the feeling that this will save you time in the long run.

I would say that one of your possible mistakes with this one was pruning the spring growth after aggressively pruning the tree in the fall. Seems like it didn’t get much of a break from the scissors. If I do heavy structural pruning in the fall with my spruces that are in the early development stage, I do not touch them with scissors again until the following fall. Just my approach. Once into the refinement stage of course would be pinching spring growth but that’s a different story.