Black Spruce (Picea mariana)
- Thread starter Curtis
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I have some experience with this species and have a associate in my study group that are growing them. Here are some points I have noted. They seem to be sensitive to placement, especially heat and sun and do best with morning sun afternoon semi-shade. A combination of stress events like blazing hot day followed by a dry wind can really make them unhappy. The happiest ones I have seen are always shaded some here in the Midwest. I have found them to be PH sensitive and resent alkaline leaning water especially if kept in organic based mixes. They should have healthy established roots before styling. They like to have a decent head of green while developing its post-collected root base. They should have strong set summer buds before any real styling.
Cool!!! Thanks. What is your associate using for soil? Do you find that these are collected in shady bogs? I am asking because I was out scouting for trees yesterday and I found a whole valley full of these stunted black spruce. From the 10 minutes that I spent down in the area(getting eaten to death by sparrow sized mosquitoes), there is what I would say is WORLD CLASS Saikei material but I'll let everyone else be the judge of that. I am heading back there later this week and am going to spend a few hours touring around in that valley. I will definitely take some pictures and possibly shoot a video. Kind of impressed with the find, only spent maybe 4 hours this year driving around out in the foothills of the Rockies(Elev. 4500-5000 feet). After finding this grove, it brings new hope to my yamadori dreams in Alberta. Moving from the coast, bonsai has been a disappointment to say the least.
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I believe most of the black spruce collected are from sphagnum swamps--not necessarily shady but usually sheltered by other trees. They are using a standard Turface/grit/ bark soil but I suspect a pure inorganic would work if fine enough to stay on the moist side. I have seen many very dwarf small spruce and larches in the sphagnum bogs. The acidity in the sphagnum make nitrogen nearly unavailable thus they grow ever so slow and elfin like. Once out they change and the elfin appearance that was so wonderful in the field fades and often reveals a dull wimpy tree--BUT perhaps you have the mother-load of great little trees.
Excellent! Thanks for your help. I wouldn't call this a swamp but it is down in a river valley where it floods from the mountain run off. They are growing in sphagnum though. They looked like it was going to be easy collecting. I wiggled a couple of trees and could see the ground/moss move quite a bit. Stay tuned, as I said pics and vid coming soon.
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