Spruce Looking Sparse

[Cosmos]

I repotted this tree in July of 2017 with no problems. I also did repots on junipers and a mugo in July of 2017.

I got to them late this year which is why it was in August.

It hasn’t been discussed so far, but you repotted this spruce two summers in a row? What was the reason?

From what I gather, you need to treat spruce like pines in terms of repotting, that is, as infrequently as possible, 3+ years between each repot.

Anecdote: I repotted a blue spruce from its nursery container on August 10 this year, and it’s doing fine (and the wind tipped the pot over around Sept. 1, uncovering a portion of the roots which I saw were growing). The colour is a bit duller compared to the new foliage at the peak of the summer, but it looks normal. My timing was so that it gets two full months to recover before the first real freezes, usually not before late October/early Nov. (-3-4 C, or about 25 F, for several hours). Which came yesterday.

 

[Johnathan]

It hasn’t been discussed so far, but you repotted this spruce two summers in a row? What was the reason?

From what I gather, you need to treat spruce like pines in terms of repotting, that is, as infrequently as possible, 3+ years between each repot.

Anecdote: I repotted a blue spruce from its nursery container on August 10 this year, and it’s doing fine (and the wind tipped the pot over around Sept. 1, uncovering a portion of the roots which I saw were growing). The colour is a bit duller compared to the new foliage at the peak of the summer, but it looks normal. My timing was so that it gets two full months to recover before the first real freezes, usually not before late October/early Nov. (-3-4 C, or about 25 F, for several hours). Which came yesterday.

I had it in a pond basket, but I wanted it to thicken up as much as possible until I can put it into the ground, so I repotted into a box. Thinking the air pruning was slowing it down some. I've been second guessing a lot of things this year. Pond basket vs box... Bonsai Soil vs dirt... Been a pretty frustrating year, but mainly because I can't make up my mind, and have been over thinking a lot lol

 

[Vance Wood]

One of the best things you can do is ask those who have/are doing the same things rather then trying to reinvent the wheel and try to figure out why you are failing.