Seasons tree tings

[Woocash]

Okily dokily folkily. There’s no getting away from it. The season of glitter barf is nearly upon us. Of course, at Jeffbezosmas time lots of little trees are available in pots at a reasonable price. In the UK the most popular species available are Norway spruce, nordmann fir, Fraser fir and blue spruce. What I would like to know are any of these species particularly suitable for bonsai and are there any others commonly used/available that would be good for potential material?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Blue spruce is on my wish list. I already have a few norway spruce.
I think all of the trees you mention could be suited for bonsai. I don't know about Fraser fir, but I've seen Nordmann, Norway and Colorado Blue spruces being bonsai, and good looking ones too. Look at some of Walter Palls threads, he likes to spruce things up I believe.

One thing with "christmas trees" in Europe though, is that they're either grown in the field and thrown in a pot for our entertainment, or they've been grown in a pot since day 1. This means that the roots are almost always a big concern. Field grown plants could be set up to die if they're scooped up wrong, it might be wise to keep that in mind. Finding a good base in a crowded pot can be difficult.

 

[just.wing.it]

I'm not into banning things.....but I would be ok with a global ban on glitter.

A Speck of Glitter Caused This Woman to Lose Her Eye

"And that, ladies and gents, is why in this house we say F*CK GLITTER."

www.google.com

 

[Woocash]

I'm not into banning things.....but I would be ok with a global ban on glitter.

A Speck of Glitter Caused This Woman to Lose Her Eye

"And that, ladies and gents, is why in this house we say F*CK GLITTER."

www.google.com

Na, lets take thing further - a worldwide ban on single use plastics. I’m not into banning thoughts, ideas or people, but banning dangerous, damaging and unnecessary ‘stuff’, I am.

 

[Woocash]

Blue spruce is on my wish list. I already have a few norway spruce.
I think all of the trees you mention could be suited for bonsai. I don't know about Fraser fir, but I've seen Nordmann, Norway and Colorado Blue spruces being bonsai, and good looking ones too. Look at some of Walter Palls threads, he likes to spruce things up I believe.

One thing with "christmas trees" in Europe though, is that they're either grown in the field and thrown in a pot for our entertainment, or they've been grown in a pot since day 1. This means that the roots are almost always a big concern. Field grown plants could be set up to die if they're scooped up wrong, it might be wise to keep that in mind. Finding a good base in a crowded pot can be difficult.

I made a rookie mistake of posting something without properly investigating first. Turns out they’re all viable. Doh! Thanks though buddy. That’s an interesting thought about the roots. I haven’t been able to find a good source for coniferous trees in general so far though so i’ll probably take a punt on a couple when the season has finished and they’re discounted. It’ll probably be the odd balls left too that are a bit more interesting, unless something grabs me from the outset. I’ll have a dig around and see what I can find.

 

[sorce]

Great title. After a third read.

This thread isn't getting the respect it deserves!

I keep wanting to find a great sale and buy it out for a forest.

But then they are all the same size.

Maybe Just gotta buy 1-3 a year for 12 years then put it together.

Finding those 2 main trees is the hardest.

Sorce

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Yes, the original list of Holiday trees are all good, or at least reasonably good for bonsai. Norway spruce, nordmann fir, Fraser fir and blue spruce.

The firs of genus Abies, tend to be a bit slow to develop bark. They tend to have relatively smooth bark, for the first couple decades. The Picea species develop a coarse or flaky bark sooner.

The pines that show up as "Christmas trees" tend to be Pinus pinea and other Mediterranean pines. These have the bad habit of reverting to juvenile foliage, actually are usually sold with only juvenile foliage. These are difficult to manage as bonsai, as your tree will tend to be a mix of both juvenile and adult foliage. The will revert every time you do a little pruning. A challenge as bonsai, but not totally impossible.

 

[Woocash]

Great title. After a third read.

This thread isn't getting the respect it deserves!

I keep wanting to find a great sale and buy it out for a forest.

But then they are all the same size.

Maybe Just gotta buy 1-3 a year for 12 years then put it together.

Finding those 2 main trees is the hardest.

Sorce

Heh who don’t like a good ol’ play on words? Cheers for the bump! I’ve been looking for a suitable forest starter species too. Was thinking larch or beech, but maybe some cheap trees o’ Crimbo.... hmmm nice idea

 

[Woocash]

Yes, the original list of Holiday trees are all good, or at least reasonably good for bonsai. Norway spruce, nordmann fir, Fraser fir and blue spruce.

The firs of genus Abies, tend to be a bit slow to develop bark. They tend to have relatively smooth bark, for the first couple decades. The Picea species develop a coarse or flaky bark sooner.

The pines that show up as "Christmas trees" tend to be Pinus pinea and other Mediterranean pines. These have the bad habit of reverting to juvenile foliage, actually are usually sold with only juvenile foliage. These are difficult to manage as bonsai, as your tree will tend to be a mix of both juvenile and adult foliage. The will revert every time you do a little pruning. A challenge as bonsai, but not totally impossible.

Cheers Leo. Norway spruce gets a bit of a bad rap as a Christmas needle dropper over here so nordmann fir and Blue spruce have really gained popularity and are much more readily available than they used to be. We don’t tend to get the long needle varieties as Christmas trees. It’s just not the fashion.

Good to know there’s plenty of decent practice material at the least.