Spruce, Do Some Have A Three Season Cycle Budding?

Saddler

Chumono
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My collected spruce, which I have for 22 months now, isn’t behaving like any other spruce trees I own. Last summer it produced a number of new buds (multiple dozens) but almost none of them grew out and the few that did put out a few (3-7) needles that are millimetres long. A few buds that already existed when I collected it grew out as normal. I was a little worried until I saw all the new buds forming, must be in the triple digits, this summer. Do some spruce skip a season before growing the buds out? The tree seems healthy enough other then , ya know, the not growing branches out part. I have another spruce that is growing a second flush with the buds is grew last month and another collected spruce I’ve had the same amount of time grew very well this summer and has put multiple buds on every tip, even with a repotting this spring. So it’s not like I struggle with growing spruce.

Here is the tree in question https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/picea-glauca-yamadori-test-tree.29612/
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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I believe you are correct in thinking this tree is somewhere near 300 years old, give or take 50 years. Just let it do it's thing. The tree will need 3 years or more to adjust to your significantly more mild climate.

I don't have any old collected spruce, but in autumn 2015, I did major root work on a pot bound Colorado blue spruce, and it opened zero new buds the following spring. Made more buds, 2017 a scattering of new opened, in 2018, buds that had formed 2 and 3 years previous opened. This year is more normal, main buds formed 2018 opened 2019.

Give your tree time, it is an ancient one, it's metabolism might be slow to recover and adjust. I would not repot again until5 years post collection, and would not consider major styling effort until 4 years post collection. Wiring is okay, but avoid major pruning and anything more stressful than wiring
 
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