Moving outdoors

[Bjhart3]

Hello

I have essentially no experience with bonsai other than a bit of reading. I started a Norway Spruce from seed in December of 2018 I’d like to try to use as a bonsai. Believe it or not it was a kit from Target and this seedling was the only survivor.

I have been growing it indoors under the impression it needed shelter until it was a bit bigger but I am thinking now that was incorrect. Should I go ahead and move it outside immediately or should I wait a bit until it is not so hot? I am in Seattle so it’s not really that hot anyway.

Beyond that, I have really no idea what my next steps should be. I plan to repot in the Late spring to trim the roots, which I probably should have already done. I’m thinking I need to get rid of the large section of growth because it’s too large and I want to encourage branching. I was thinking that should happen in late winter or early spring before it buds.

any recommendations would be welcome!

 

[BonsaiDTLA]

I'd put it outside. It's how seedlings start in nature

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Can't believe it's alive!

Sorce

 

[Shibui]

Outside but let it adjust to the changed temp and strong sun first. It has never seen sun before and is likely to get sunburn if it goes straight into full sun. Somewhere with just a few hours for the first week or 2 then a bit more sun each week until it has adjusted to cope.
Be aware that your pot will dry out much, much quicker outdoors. Little pots like that need watering every day, sometimes twice a day when outside.

 

[Bjhart3]

Welcome to Crazy!

Can't believe it's alive!

Sorce

I’m kind of surprised too haha

 

[Bjhart3]

Outside but let it adjust to the changed temp and strong sun first. It has never seen sun before and is likely to get sunburn if it goes straight into full sun. Somewhere with just a few hours for the first week or 2 then a bit more sun each week until it has adjusted to cope.
Be aware that your pot will dry out much, much quicker outdoors. Little pots like that need watering every day, sometimes twice a day when outside.

Thanks Shibui that makes sense. I would like to get it adjusted to outdoor life soon so it can be outside as the temperatures cool.

do you have any thoughts about if I should do any trimming or anything at this point? Or wait until winter/spring? I have been able to find out some information about techniques for trimming and shaping but very little about when the best time of year is to use them.

 

[Shibui]

There is not a lot to trim or to shape yet. Most of us let trees grow freely for a few years to build a thicker trunk. Most good bonsai are not grown up in small pots but are cut down from bigger trees then put into small pots.
As you already have it in a small pot you are taking the very, very long route to a bonsai. You could just chop the trunk about 2/3 up. Pruning usually stimulates new buds from the remaining needles so you will then have branches. One of those branches becomes the new trunk and grow and repeat for many years until you are satisfied with the results.

There is no one way to bonsai. With plants many roads lead to similar destinations.

 

[Bjhart3]

Well I didn’t cut anything and just let it do it’s thing since I last posted. Thinking I should try to straighten it and maybe see how it goes from there.

 

[Wulfskaar]

That looks like it's doing amazing!!! I doubt anyone here would suggest straightening it unless that's the style you are going for. People try to wire movement into straight trunks, so you might want to think about your goal first.

I'd let it grow a lot more but I'm interested to see what the pros here would say.