Spruces have one common problem: once you cut the terminal bud, the branch
usually dies. For this reason, I try to design my spruces so that i can
remove entire branches rather than a few whirls. I've got one Bird's Nest
for ten years, and it's no larger than the day I started to train it.
Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter K."
To:
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 6:02 PM
Subject: [IBC] spruce


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

--
Peter Kulibert zone 4a/5b


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I have a Bird's Nest Spruce I am working for about 4 years. It's about 8" tall. The trunk is only about an inch in diameter at the base. I prune it in the early Spring just before the new buds start opening . but pinch back the terminal buds when they appe
ar to have completely opened. I usually remove 1/2 or the entire new growth depending on where it is. then I do not touch the tree again until the following Spring.
I find removing hard wood any time other than early spring results in damage to branches or the tree itself. I had bad experiences with Alberta Spruce cutting them too late in the Spring.

SteveW
Long Island NY

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I have a Bird's Nest Spruce I am working for about 4 years. It's about 8" tall. The trunk is only about an inch in diameter at the base. I prune it in the early Spring just before the new buds start opening . but pinch back the terminal buds when they appe
ar to have completely opened. I usually remove 1/2 or the entire new growth depending on where it is. then I do not touch the tree again until the following Spring.
I find removing hard wood any time other than early spring results in damage to branches or the tree itself. I had bad experiences with Alberta Spruce cutting them too late in the Spring.

SteveW
Long Island NY

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In a message dated 3/13/2004 6:09:52 PM Eastern Standard Time,
writes:
anyone have any luck with bird's nest spruce as bonsai? i've tried a few
nursery plants without any success.

--
Peter Kulibert zone 4a/5b
Peter:

Yes. Picea nidiformis, or the Bird's Nest Spruce, is an outstanding species
for bonsai culture. If you are fortunate, you will locate something that has
been growth for decades and be able to extract it safely from its environment.
The most challenging part of working with collected Spruce is getting them
to root. This is particularly challenging when the specimen is characterized
by a taproot and the absence of fibrous roots.

I have included an image of my Thunder at:
http://members.aol.com/iasnob/thunder.html
Many years ago, I discover that 3 enormous wood borers had entered the trunk
of the tree at soil level. This undoubtedly went undetected for years. When
the borers were located during a repotting activity, irreversibly deadly
damage had been done.

With respect to the trees ability to respond to technique and Superfeeding, I
can tell you that this tree was cut extremely hard during the initial
styling, Superfeed, and taken to the posted image within a 5-year period.

Cordially,

Michael Persiano
hometown.aol.com/iasnob/index.html

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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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++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++