Picea abies Nidiformis

[Costistv]

Hi everyone

I will buy a Norway Spruce Nidiformis.
It's in a 4,5 l plastic pot. Nice double trunk.
I would like to know what is the best thing to do in the beginning? Tease the roots a little bit and pot it up with a better drainage soil or few structural brunch cuttings and not touch the soil? Or it's safe to do them both?
I read it a good time to work on spruce now. I hope it's right.

Thanks

 

[0soyoung]

Generally, I think it best to get it out of the dirt/potting-soil and into a bonsai substrate first.

Don't do any pruning (aside from removing clearly dead stuff) as that foliage is what powers root growth and recovery from the damage done in the course of making the soil-to-substrate change.

Don't start pruning/trimming (= working on it) until it is growing vigorously.

The soil --> substrate move can be done Aug/Sep (northern hemi) or in spring. I judge vigor by the subsequent foliage flush and how much budding it produces. As with most things, cut back to and existing node or to a bud. Any stem without a bud on the end will inevitably die back to the nearest bud/node.

 

[Cypress187]

If you put your location in your profile they can give better advice. Welcome to the forum!

 

[Costistv]

Thank you! I will come back with some pictures.

 

[Costistv]

few pictures and foliage details. ( it's full of buds )
it looks like a bush, but the trunk is nice. @0soyoung , I will change the soil with well drainage substrate and pot it in a 7.5 l pot (this one is 4.5). I want to see how much trunk is under the top soil and maybe to decide the front. Then I will clean all the dead stuff and start to read about it.

 

[0soyoung]

It ought to be fun @Costistv.
I dug one a few years ago that I'm still having fun with.

 

[Costistv]

I found this about the best timing for picea

Picea/ Spruce Bonsai – Bonsai4Me

www.bonsai4me.com

 

[sorce]

May be a bit late to Repot.

I'd want to cut off all the dead stuff, and maybe a tad more, before it's repotted, while it's firmly rooted in that container anyway.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Somewhat of a derail, but every time I see a Norway spruce my head hurts. Whoever named Norway spruce "Picea abies" (literally "Spruce fir") needs to be tossed into a pile of juvenile juniper foliage!

 

[Costistv]

Hi, guys.
I digged around the trunk to find a base and work with it by removing weak branches or too thick ones.
And now I wait to see how will go ahead in the next growing season .

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Nice

 

[Costistv]

I'm hoping, by this time, it has enough resources in the roots to support this foliage in spring.
It everything goes well I will report in late summer. But I have no rush.

 

[0soyoung]

I'm hoping, by this time, it has enough resources in the roots to support this foliage in spring.
It everything goes well I will report in late summer. But I have no rush.

With conifers it is more the reverse = enough foliage to grow roots.

 

[Costistv]

Thanks @0soyoung
I am new to bonsai and try to learn my trees.
On this one, I rely on its nursery roots. They look healthy, so I hope they will push the new buds. That's why I don't want to do a re-pot too soon.

 

[Costistv]

Hi, guys!
I have a question.

I placed this tree outside. The winter in UK is pretty wet. The soil is wet all the time now. (It is nursery, organic one)

Having the foliage reduced, the water circulation and evaporation process reduced, is any danger for the roots to rot?

 

[0soyoung]

There is always a risk, but spruce cope well with 'wetter' soil conditions.
Sticky clay soil is what one needs to worry about as it has very little air filled porosity. You can always cover ithe soil with something like aluminum foil if it is getting 'gooey' wet.

 

[Costistv]

Aluminiu foil... that's a very good idea!
Thanks!

 

[sorce]

Just be careful cuz of it snows over it, and you don't have access, it could dry out.

Better to leave it out IMO, cuz it certainly is for me.

Mine was repotted into half a pond basket with a mix of nursery soil and DE and it's been fine waterlogged and completely frozen on the ground.

My Black Hills Spruce that was left waterlogged in it's nursery pot, had wet rotted the bottom mess off, not the pathogen root rot, just wet rot, and I was left with a nicely pottable surface root mass.

WP's circle of Spruce Keepers has mentioned a dry surface is bad for spruce.

Sorce

 

[Costistv]

For better drainage I tilted all my trees. If you say that the spruce will handle it, I'm not worry about. For the moment, it rains a lot, but the temperature is about 5 most of the time.
My biggest concern is actually about my olive tree. I will apply aluminium foil on it.

 

[sorce]

olive tree

Reckon that'll be a bit more fickle, I'd begin to worry about oxygen exchange, almost better to ...
Maybe store it where Grandma used to keep her herbs.

Sorce