Spruce/Picea Abies

[BobbyLane]

Hi @barrosinc , thanks for your input, its perfectly normal for the trunks to go up like this almost parallel to each other, the two main, highest trunks on WP's tree are in fact doing exactly this, they can also look symmetric in nature. as the tree fills out, it wont be so obvious and ill be able to obscure sections of the trunks buddy. in the future, you never know.

 

[M. Frary]

I think I would keep only one trunk.
It looks to symmetric.
And it would still have the same concept of WP tree.

And in the second and third picture it looks like it's coming after you with some bad intent.
Kind of like Donald Trump when he sees a beautiful woman. If you catch my drift.
The bottom jin.

 

[BobbyLane]

Its worth considering guys
IMG_3027 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

will see how it recovers..

 

[Tycoss]

Here's mine. Also a lot of reduction to do, but I'll have to go slow since it was collected in the wild. I posted it else where. Got lots of great care advice, but not much on styling. What do you guys think?

 

[BobbyLane]

I like that, it has character, nice bark, a few bits to play with, i like the natural shari in the first pic, i'd like to have that as a potential front....you should look at some of WP's spruce for ideas
It looks healthy, when did you collect it?

Something like this

By WP

 

[M. Frary]

I like that, it has character, nice bark, a few bits to play with, i like the natural shari in the first pic, i'd like to have that as a potential front....you should look at some of WP's spruce for ideas
It looks healthy, when did you collect it?

Something like this

By WP

I love the fairy tale spooky bonsai.

 

[Tycoss]

I like that, it has character, nice bark, a few bits to play with, i like the natural shari in the first pic, i'd like to have that as a potential front....you should look at some of WP's spruce for ideas
It looks healthy, when did you collect it?

Something like this

By WP

I collected it this April. Photo from this October. I plan on using the first picture as the front. It will most likely end up a bit taller than Walters pic. Maybe a bit more like the one in the video link. I plan to keep all three trunks alive but with jinned tops. I'm not married to the idea though, and will consider other suggestions. Love Walters spruces.

 

[Random User]

So, today I was driving along "in Sunday tourist mode" in an area quite a ways away from my house, when I ran across a ditch full of spruce trees where 1/2 of them had been mowed over by the municipal brush mower... I found a nice tree very similar in size and shape that you guys are discussing and a whole bunch of 12" (30cm) and under saplings... I see a few experiments coming my way... will go collect a few in a week or so.

 

[Tycoss]

So, today I was driving along "in Sunday tourist mode" in an area quite a ways away from my house, when I ran across a ditch full of spruce trees where 1/2 of them had been mowed over by the municipal brush mower... I found a nice tree very similar in size and shape that you guys are discussing and a whole bunch of 12" (30cm) and under saplings... I see a few experiments coming my way... will go collect a few in a week or so.

I like the sound of this. Keep us posted. Just keep in mind that spruce are seasonally sensitive. I'd wait until spring if I were you, though I've heard fall collection can work. I only have two spruce so far, both collected in April.

 

[Random User]

I brutally removed two spruce trees from a ditch 3 hours away from me last year... and did a few others in years past for landscape trees, and all did really well. I even bare rooted one of them and dropped it into course sand/gravel and some coconut fiber with course pours recycled glass beads, the thing did really well. Now, I'm not going to say that this is a better time than waiting until spring, but I haven't seen any of them slow down or stall after fall collection.

There are probably 50 good ones to choose from and 50 that are so-so... there are also "patches" of them (that have obviously been mowed year after year) and are growing as a "mat"... I was thinking...

 

[Tycoss]

Here are some other ones I have been eyeing. I still think the one I collected this spring is the best of them. It seems to be doing very well, so I may try my luck with some of these next year. Last three are Picea pungens, first two p. Glauca

 

[Tycoss]

And another wild Picea glauca with the beginnings of a candelabra form starting. Sorry about the bad photo.

 

[JoeR]

Maannn this makes me want some spruce. The picea glehnii seeds I'm starting again don't count...

Most spruce dont do well here I think....

 

[Random User]

But you guys have all kinds of things that we can't have... like J Maples.

Isn't that always the way... we always want the things that we "can't" have, and knowing that makes us want them even more.

There are a number of things that I have come to accept and enjoy:

1. If "X species" of tree/plant is not hardy here I'm not messing with it.

2. We have things here that you guys can't have without a great deal of hassle... so we should enjoy them.

3. Much of what you do horticuturallyy does not always cross over or is applicable here.

4. What I was doing all along, was the "right thing to do" for the area I'm in, with the climate we have, and the materials available to me/us.

5. I should be looking east-west (not north-south) for the information that I need, for all the reasons listed above.

... but it's always nice to see what other people are doing elsewhere; even though I don't ever intend on showing what I have.

 

[Tycoss]

But you guys have all kinds of things that we can't have... like J Maples.

Isn't that always the way... we always want the things that we "can't" have, and knowing that makes us want them even more.

There are a number of things that I have come to accept and enjoy:

1. If "X species" of tree/plant is not hardy here I'm not messing with it.

2. We have things here that you guys can't have without a great deal of hassle... so we should enjoy them.

3. Much of what you do horticuturallyy does not always cross over or is applicable here.

4. What I was doing all along, was the "right thing to do" for the area I'm in, with the climate we have, and the materials available to me/us.

5. I should be looking east-west (not north-south) for the information that I need, for all the reasons listed above.

... but it's always nice to see what other people are doing elsewhere; even though I don't ever intend on showing what I have.

Yep, us Western Canadians need to share our ideas. Most of what's written about bonsai is for much gentler climates. Our trees have not only their own needs, but their own form and aesthetic.

 

[Random User]

Yes, and I think the Eastern Canadians might have to do the same to some extent... the Great Lakes create their own weather patterns that, for the most part, don't effect us too too much, other than Manitoba and a portion of south-east Saskatchewan in the winter... most of us would drop dead in August and September if we had to endure the summer heat that can effect lower Ontario, and our bitch trees (in particular) would be about 3 hours behind us.

 

[BobbyLane]

Ive gone ahead and jinned of the trunks, the virt really grew on me and i think less is more in this case, it does in fact look a lot better, now permitting i can keep it alive, i think it has a future, over time the dead wood can be shortened or reduced in girth.
IMG_3087 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

IMG_3093 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

 

[M. Frary]

.. but it's always nice to see what other people are doing elsewhere; even though I don't ever intend on showing what I have

If we don't see your trees then they don't exist.
And if they don't exist we probably don't listen to a word you say concerning trees. Pictures of trees tell the tale better than anything you say about them. Let's us know if you really know what you are talking about.

 

[Tycoss]

BobbyLane, well done with your recent edit to the spruce. I think if you let the live portion grow out for a couple years it would solve the issue of proportion and visual weight. Other people here have better eyes for these things than me, but I would increase the taper of the deadwood while leaving the length and base alone. Well done.

 

[wireme]

Ive gone ahead and jinned of the trunks, the virt really grew on me and i think less is more in this case, it does in fact look a lot better, now permitting i can keep it alive, i think it has a future, over time the dead wood can be shortened or reduced in girth.
IMG_3087 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

IMG_3093 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

You're certainly not shy about going straight for the image you're after are you? I probably would have taken about four years of gradual reduction and strengthening of the keeper branch to get to that point!
Looking forward to seeing how it responds for you.