Suggestions for Colorado Spruce

jersanct

Very first post here, and looking forward to some advice--thanks in advance.

I recently won this tree in a local society raffle, after the previous owner, I think, grew frustrated with it and neglected it a bit. Cleaned up unhealthy branches, branches with foliage far from the trunk and no back-budding, and tried to retain any useful remaining branches. Also tried to clear up a massive aphid infestation, successfully, it appears. Then sketched out several possibilities and did some wiring, skipping the detail wiring for now. As long as I don't lose a crucial branch here or there, I may have something to work with here. All suggestions welcome.

Sadly, I didn't take a photo before I started working on it.

Some photos after I finished the major pruning:



Photos after wiring:

Advertisement

jersanct

Just posting again to move this to the top, in the hopes of receiving some advice. As background, I'd classify myself as someone just above 'complete novice' and not much higher, and I would welcome any comments.

Also, I apologize for the big photos in the body of my message, but I couldn't figure out how to post the clever thumbnails the rest of you use. I'm sure I'll find the trick once I have time to wade through the site a bit more.

soonami

As for posting with thumbnails, I like www.imagevenue.com

The tree is seriously lacking branching so it is hard to say what can be done to the tree. Personally, I would remove the wire and prune the branches back a little in hopes of some back budding, otherwise there isn't too much that can be done. I'm not sure what to tell you since I don't have much experience with picea

jersanct

Thanks very much for the response.

Having no experience at all with Picea, I've done a bit of reading on encouraging back-budding, and I will also note that the existing branches are back-budding somewhat well at the moment, as long as I don't lose any of them. I suspect you are suggesting that I'll need to encourage more branching from the trunk, though, rather than hoping for the existing main branches to fill in. Is that right?

In that case, I wonder if a hard prune of the top third or so of the trunk might not be a bad start, to see if I can encourage any budding in that bare middle section of the trunk. Does that seem like the right kind of strategy?

This came to me in a sorry-ish state, but I hate to waste a fairly nice trunk and taper (at least to this amateur's eyes) without doing what I can.

Thanks again for the response.

jersanct

After a bit more research on Spruce-specific techniques, more sketching, and a laughable first attempt at a virtual (laughable enough that I'm not posting it), I think I've reached the following conclusions:

1) I plan for the final height of the tree to reach right about that point where you see the 'T' branches near the current top. I will let it grow for a bit to thicken up that final portion of trunk, and I'll eventually try to style an apex using those T-branches, if I do not get suitable buds slightly lower.

2) Despite Soonami's kind response and suggestion that there was not enough branching, I think I may end up removing another primary branch or two--I'll make final decisions after seeing how well the existing branches do once we hit the growing season. My further research has shown that the few nice Picea pungens bonsai I could find made use of very few primary branches. I will, however (and this might be what you really were suggesting, Soonami), continue to follow the correct techniques to stimulate back-budding, attempting to fill out the existing branches. I very well may be able to wire the branches (although wiring can take a long time to set) into a configuration that brings them closer to the trunk, as well.

Again, any comments/warnings are welcome, although I understand that Picea is not the most popular tree for bonsai, and many people therefore may not have much experience with them. I'll try to remember to post follow-up messages to document my progress next year, and we'll see if things look better then.
I suspect, particularly due to the fact that I have more enthusiasm than time or skill at the point, that I may end up, over time, with an imperfect tree that still will make me happy enough. It cost me all of 71 cents (7 raffle tickets/$5), so I think that will be good enough.

jersanct

Brief update on this tree: back-budding aplenty this Spring. This Fall, I may be able to prune some of the longer branches you saw in the early photos, to bring them in closer to the trunk. I hope to continue to thicken the trunk and the lower branches, and to continue to stimulate back-budding, and we'll see what I can make of it, if anything.

I wouldn't expect any comments on these photos, as you can't see much of the tree, but I will post photos when it comes time to prune in the Fall, and hopefully someone will have some advice for me then.

Well, I do have one question now, and I can't believe this didn't strike me sooner: wouldn't the lower trunk/nebari look much more convincing if I planted it deeper when I next repot it?

Attached Images

	Spruce Apr06.JPG (41.3 KB, 76 views)
	Spruce Apr06a.JPG (46.7 KB, 74 views)

zen

Is that Monty Python on TV ?

__________________
"Although profoundly "inconsequential," the Zen experience has consequences in the sense that it may be applied in any direction, to any conceivable human activity, and that wherever it is so applied it lends an unmistakable quality to the work."

~ Alan Watts (1915-1973)

jersanct

*wink wink*

meushi

nudge nudge, say no more