Bird's nest spruce (Picea abies nidiformis) can do quite well as bonsai. As
with other spruce and fir, proper timing when pinching new growth is crucial
to inducing back budding.

One must pinch the new shoot while it is soft and elongating. It can be
pinched by 1/2 to 3/4, or even completely off, to keep the branch from
elongating too much. The portion of the shoot from the pinched new growth
back to the next node will generally not produce any buds, but there will
normally be buds produced at the first node back from the pinched shoot, and
possibly farther back as well.

Regards,
Roger Snipes Spokane, WA Zone 5, or maybe Zone 6.
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it,
and then misapplying the wrong remedies. Groucho Marx (1895-1977)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter K."


anyone have any luck with bird's nest spruce as bonsai? i've tried a few
nursery plants without any success.


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