future picea forrest

[barrosinc]

Found some slabs! For like 10 bucks a 1m x 0,5m

 

[sorce]

Found some slabs! For like 10 bucks a 1m x 0,5m
View attachment 122272 View attachment 122273 View attachment 122274 View attachment 122275

You know you have to go through ALL of those to find the perfect one, right!?

Have fun!

Nice!

Sorce

 

[barrosinc]

You know you have to go through ALL of those to find the perfect one, right!?

Have fun!

Nice!

Sorce

I bought a bunch! But decided to put them on the ground like a pathway for my benches. Gonna have to go back!
Good thing, its really close and a square meter is like 20 USD.

 

[J. Adrian]

I was thinking the same thing, a couple weeks back I saw a lot of spruce young upright trees, and were also in need of TLC and I thought the same thing, those would make an awesome group planting, I did not take a look at price or attention to detail, but they have been on my mind. nice project, would love to see the progress.

 

[barrosinc]

Do these backbud anywhere on trunks or same at branches like junipers or nodes like maples?

 

[sorce]

Do these backbud anywhere on trunks or same at branches like junipers or nodes like maples?

Anywhere a Needle Was...

Which is Usually everywhere.

Sorce

 

[barrosinc]

Thanks! I bought 2 more. But need backbudding.

 

[sorce]

Thanks! I bought 2 more. But need backbudding.

Far as getting them to backbud....

Eeee...

Ask the Xmas tree farmer!
@m .Frary

Sorce

 

[wireme]

I've found spruce to be a real waiting game, especially if they are looking weak like the first ones you posted. They can sit and grow weakly for a long time then one season they suddenly get strong and boom, buds everywhere. Even without any pruning whatsoever. With the spruce I collect it can be anywhere from 1-5 yrs after collection. Pruning will help induce back budding no doubt but I think if you just wait for them to really gain vigour first you'll be rewarded quicker in the long run. The real key is to have faith that they will respond very well when ready. Then you don't have to stress about it and pinch and pluck and prune trying to force it when the tree is not strong enough yet. Some species of spruce will pop new buds right out of the trunk even old barked up sites, some probably not, best not to count on it.

How are those first ones doing? They do look like nice forest material.

 

[barrosinc]

Far as getting them to backbud....

Eeee...

Ask the Xmas tree farmer!
@m .Frary

Sorce

sad to say... but we don't have a live christmas tree market down here. Spruces are almost nowhere to be found. I actually bought these like 500km away from my house.

I've found spruce to be a real waiting game, especially if they are looking weak like the first ones you posted. They can sit and grow weakly for a long time then one season they suddenly get strong and boom, buds everywhere. Even without any pruning whatsoever. With the spruce I collect it can be anywhere from 1-5 yrs after collection. Pruning will help induce back budding no doubt but I think if you just wait for them to really gain vigour first you'll be rewarded quicker in the long run. The real key is to have faith that they will respond very well when ready. Then you don't have to stress about it and pinch and pluck and prune trying to force it when the tree is not strong enough yet. Some species of spruce will pop new buds right out of the trunk even old barked up sites, some probably not, best not to count on it.

That sounds about right... 1 of the trees I showed on the first page is very weak. The rest just passing the time... They must be rebuilding roots or something along those lines.

 

[wireme]

sad to say... but we don't have a live christmas tree market down here. Spruces are almost nowhere to be found. I actually bought these like 500km away from my house.



That sounds about right... 1 of the trees I showed on the first page is very weak. The rest just passing the time... They must be rebuilding roots or something along those lines.

They do that, at least mine do. I've got a bunch going on their 5thseason after collection and still haven't done a thing with them, they are finally coming in strong this year though. Eventually you'll get the backbud boom and then progress can be pretty quick.

 

[M. Frary]

Everything @wireme just said.
Once healthy most spruce will backbud on even the trunk.
Especially with cutting back to the previous years growth.

 

[barrosinc]

Cool, I only chopped the two larger most healthy ones, wired a smaller healthy tree, and the rest have only been put in colanders with inorganic soil (almost barerooted not on purpose but had chunks of mud that just fell off because they had no roots in them).
This year I will repot the two larger ones out of nursery soil and baby the smaller ones.

I think I have 3 more springs before putting them on a slab.
My goal is still to look for something like this:

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Nice "ugly" spruces, hope they all regain vigor for you. You got good advice, especially from @wireme, he has a fair number of spruces, for quite a while.

I agree that these are Picea orientalis. You are in zone 9, your winters are quite mild, too mild for most Picea. Picea orientalis comes from the southwestern "Orient", the mountains of eastern Iran, eastern Turkey, on to area towards Pakistan. As a result the Oriental spruce is more tolerant of mild winter, and summer heat than most spruce species.

So I think you are correct when you decided they were Picea orientalis. It is a good species for bonsai, in many ways similar to Ezo spruce, but slightly longer needles and less dense back budding. Very do-able as bonsai.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

When healthy, Oriental spruce will have very dark green needles, almost a black color in the right light. It is not a blue green, they do not have the glaucus waxy coating that gives pungens, engelman and other spruces their blue color.

You will know they are healthy when you see this color return, and the nice contrast with the bright green of new growth.

My young nursery P orientalis for comparison.

 

[barrosinc]

These are looking really slow. And look so different as varieties.



There are two more and lost one.
I have been chasing back the foliage, but that is pretty much it...