Kiwi's Blue Spruce

Adair M

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So WHAT is it then?:confused:
Trees will grow without fertilizer. Maybe not as much as they would with fertilizer, but they will continue to live.

Put trees in the dark, and they will die, whether you fertilize them or not.
 

KiwiPlantGuy

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So I do have some 6mm copper wire I was sold by Bonsai shop in Aust. The wire is not very soft so I found it a bit tricky to wire this very well.
Anyway here is the wired version and I think an improvement on the previous photo.
I still have a problem with the back branch and the weird start to the branch. Probably has to cut off.
E241C0C2-D705-45E1-A683-CC0451B2A719.jpeg
Charles
 

KiwiPlantGuy

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Hi all,
Another year later, repotted into lava, pumice, pine bark. Doesn’t seem to look any different from the previous year. Going to leave it alone this season, and then prune next Summer to force some back budding. I see my first right branch has sprung back. I think the other thing worth noting here is that I have been informed that this is a dwarf cultivar so forcing the top to grow is another trick to learn!!
Any comments welcome,
Charles
F1AD9DB9-5C0A-41D3-A48F-E9990966AAEE.jpeg
7184B974-654B-4FBE-B42B-FD29C62B66FC.jpeg
 

KiwiPlantGuy

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Hi again,
I am thinking about reducing the foliage of the lowest branch as per second picture in the previous post.
What I am confused about is that I can prune this a number of ways.
1/ Leaving one side branch per whorl and create an alternating pattern.
2/ I can cut it all harder back and prune to 2’s. Eg. 2 divides to 4 divides to 8 etc.

Maybe overthinking this but is there a rule per conifers/pines to us Rule 2.? And as CB per the picture, can I cut half of this foliage off?

Asking @Adair M , @Shibui , and others for their thoughts thank you.
Charles
 

KiwiPlantGuy

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Hi,
Well I guess this got missed by everyone, just wanted a bit of help- see previous post thank you.
Am tagging @Shibui and/or @Adair M and others please and thank you.
Charles
 

Adair M

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You could thin the foliage a little. Each intersection should only have two branches.
 

WNC Bonsai

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I would think long and hard before cutting too much. I will take a long time to grow that back.Better to take photos and do virtual prun9ng to see what it might look like. You can always remove more later.
 

Shibui

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What I am confused about is that I can prune this a number of ways.
1/ Leaving one side branch per whorl and create an alternating pattern.
2/ I can cut it all harder back and prune to 2’s. Eg. 2 divides to 4 divides to 8 etc.

Maybe overthinking this but is there a rule per conifers/pines to us Rule 2.? And as CB per the picture, can I cut half of this foliage off?
Aren't both these options effectively the same thing? Leaving one branch at each junction is effectively pruning to 2s?

2x2 branching is just as important in conifers as deciduous. Try to develop 2x2 branching wherever possible.

Just to be clear I have no spruces in my collection so can't offer first hand experience here. Having said that I would try cutting off up to half the foliage on any species, including blue spruce, but I'd also take note of the warning given by @Cofga
Pruning is good to promote growth and ramification but some species take longer to respond than others. Unfortunately moderate pruning often does not give the same response as harder pruning. Lower branches also respond with less vigour and take longer to shoot and grow when there are dominant branches above.

Looking closer at the photo I think you will have to bite the bullet soon. That branch is getting long and end heavy so you do really need to get more growth further back to create balance in the whole tree. Removing as much longer, end shoots as you are comfortable with will be a good start.
 
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