I have found a few threads dealing with my question, but am still not convinced that I have the answer . I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, zone 6a. I have a 3 foot tall dwarf alberta spruce that was purchased from a nursery and is in its original plastic pot. I want to remove the top 8", remove many branches, and wire the remaining with the goal of it being an upright bonsai. QUESTION ::: When to prune and when to repot. I will save the repotting till spring but am not sure about the pruning. I'm afraid if I do the root pruning and repot in the spring that I should not prune the foliage for the fear of the reduced root mass not being able to sustain the large amount of foliage. Should I prune foliage now and repot in spring,,,,, to confused to start operating so l could use some advice. Thanks for taking the time to help.
Dwarf Alberta Spruce Pruning
- Thread starter Mr. C
- Start date
yenling83
Omono
Generally speaking, I'd pick one major operation per year. Before you prune/style you want to make sure the tree is growing healthy and strong. Because this is from a nursery, I'd repot first to get the tree in good soil. Fertilize heavy the following growing season, make sure the tree is growing strongly before considering a cut back/styling. You want to make sure the tree is energy positive before styling. Good luck!
houterig
Sapling
Yea, agree with the repot first. I had 3 alberta's, I repotted two the first spring, and I pruned one and left it in its own pot.
The one I pruned is dead. Maybe cut too much who knows. I will not prune first anymore untill I know it is strong.
The other two that I repotted are alive and growing well. One was pruned the year after and the other one will be pruned this winter (I bought them in different years).
Wulfskaar
Omono
I got one, and the soil, to my eye, appears to be fairly fresh. I'm wondering if a repot early next year is too soon if the tree has been recently plopped into it's current pot. If so, would it be ok to style it now, then repot in early 2026?
I guess I'm looking for an excuse to style it, but instead probably need a good gut punch from @rockm .
I guess I'm looking for an excuse to style it, but instead probably need a good gut punch from @rockm .
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
If the tree is solid in it current soil/pot (ie-doesn’t move) you can probably work the styling. Soil must drain pretty well too. If the drainage is slow I’d repot and wait another year in styling
