Much needed advice on my little group of blue spruce

[visualist74]

Hi all. Very new to the bonsai scene. I’m very enamored with conifers and the idea of forest making. Ive done quit a bit of research, read a few books, scrolled through a multitude of posts, watched a plethora of YouTube videos on everything bonsai and tried my hand at a few sacrificial shrubs etc.! Still feel very novice but the fascination is there and it sure is fun the more I learn.

Anyway here is my question. I ordered several blue spruce trees from a nursery back in May and they just arrived. 2 groups. 9 3-4 year olds and 6 1-2 year old saplings. (Figured i’d order a few extra to account for some deaths and abnormalities in the material). They came all/to mostly bare rooted and in a dormant state. The instructions only seem to pertain to normal planting...nothing relevant to bonsai growth.

I’m not exactly sure what to do since it’s this far into the Summer.

1. should I plant them in the ground and wait until spring and then start with a training pot, leave and not prune until the first growth next year?

2. can I plant them in a training pot now and do the same thing next Spring as mentioned above?

3.Since they are already bare root can I trim the root system now and put in a large oversized bonsai pot?

I’d love to get going on something but also have the patience to wait and do whatever will give me the best odds at success!

Thank you in advance for all your thoughts!

Ted-

 

[TN_Jim]

Welcome

Where ya located?..update profile info big help

Post some pictures?...what are you working with? How long ago did you receive the material -current care regime?

 

[visualist74]

I live in Boise, ID. Zone 6. All the material just arrived today. Currently no care regiment!

I assume whatever I do long term that I at least need to get going on something temporary until the trees ‘wake up’ as well?

 

[TN_Jim]

I live in Boise, ID. Zone 6. All the material just arrived today. Currently no care regiment!

I assume whatever I do long term that I at least need to get going on something temporary until the trees ‘wake up’ as well?

They ain’t asleep, they need some love, appropriate soil for your conditions, a good container or pot, and to be outside, ASAP

Here is a link to one I have, the help given in this thread was immense and I imagine transferable in some regards. Tree is still alive here in 7a, many other threads here on this species as well as forest plantings.
Thanks

Picea pungens 'Globosa' -Where to begin?

If this Dwarf Globe Blue Spruce were more of a deal i'd have had to have swiped it. So, after doing some homework and getting some mixed signals, I am at a loss with what I really should, could, and should not be doing with this tree at present. I have no idea how to approach styling. Please...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

I reckon they were packed well to avoid the Corona themselves, but the Corona still got em, roundabout like it's getting everyone and everything.

Any word on when they were shipped?

It seems promptly after the order was placed.

I wonder if they wouldn't reimburse you if they are all dead.

Seems this case is a hybrid beating around the bush, and beating a dead horse.

Sorce

 

[Tycoss]

I keep quite a few spruce, and would not touch the roots for now. If the branches go brittle, that branch is dead. Hate to say it, but from the picture their health does not look great.

Plant them in a training container in pretty fast draining soil, and put them outside right away. Keep them moist, and try not to get the roots too hot.

Basically you treat them like a newly collected yamadori spruce. There are lots of threads on this on the site.

The only two I ever killed were both due to root problems, so I would be very careful with those for at least the next year or two. Good luck.

 

[visualist74]

They ain’t asleep, they need some love, appropriate soil for your conditions, a good container or pot, and to be outside, ASAP

Here is a link to one I have, the help given in this thread was immense and I imagine transferable in some regards. Tree is still alive here in 7a, many other threads here on this species as well as forest plantings.
Thanks

Picea pungens 'Globosa' -Where to begin?

If this Dwarf Globe Blue Spruce were more of a deal i'd have had to have swiped it. So, after doing some homework and getting some mixed signals, I am at a loss with what I really should, could, and should not be doing with this tree at present. I have no idea how to approach styling. Please...

www.bonsainut.com

Thanks Jim. Will look over the link you provided and get back with thoughts and thanks!

 

[visualist74]

Welcome to Crazy!

I reckon they were packed well to avoid the Corona themselves, but the Corona still got em, roundabout like it's getting everyone and everything.

Any word on when they were shipped?

It seems promptly after the order was placed.

I wonder if they wouldn't reimburse you if they are all dead.

Seems this case is a hybrid beating around the bush, and beating a dead horse.

Sorce

Sorce,

mom not a 100% sure when they were shipped. only thing I got was a daythe purchase was billed, which was 7/1. Assume it must have been within a couple days of that date.

I’ve got a year warranty on them. They did mention in the note/instructions provided not to be too alarmed with their current state...how much stock I’m putting into that seems to be waning with ya’ll posts. I guess time will tell.

 

[visualist74]

I keep quite a few spruce, and would not touch the roots for now. If the branches go brittle, that branch is dead. Hate to say it, but from the picture their health does not look great.

Plant them in a training container in pretty fast draining soil, and put them outside right away. Keep them moist, and try not to get the roots too hot.

Basically you treat them like a newly collected yamadori spruce. There are lots of threads on this on the site.

The only two I ever killed were both due to root problems, so I would be very careful with those for at least the next year or two. Good luck.

tycoss,

thank you for advice. Will research the treads related to the yamadori spruce threads.

once I get them transferred to a training pot is it ok to put in direct sun or a week or two in the shade a better route until they look like they are on the mend...if in fact that is what happens!

 

[visualist74]

Before I leave for the night...one last thing. There are about 10-12 that ‘look’ fairly good when it comes to appearance, potential. If I can find a big enough training pot would it be fine to plant them all together or would a group of _# be better for now with the idea of combining them all together in the future? Any thoughts on dimensions...especially depth of training pot? 5-6” or deeper?

 

[August44]

The shipper has to be and idiot to ship trees bare root like that this time of year and in this heat. They should have been shipped at the most by 3 day mail, and not over a weekend. Those trees are far from dormant unless they were in a refer somewhere. Sorry for the bad luck, especially when you're new to the business. You're in the right place though! Peter

 

[Tycoss]

Planting together need not be a problem, and 5”-6” should not be an issue either, so long as you pay attention to the moisture/drainage/temperature. I can only speak from my own experience, which is mostly with collected p. Glauca and p. Enhlemanni, in a cooler climate, but similar rules apply with p. Pungens in a warmer climate. I have never actually bare rooted a spruce, and have only collected in early spring/late summer. Bare rooted spruce in active growth are riskier.

 

[Tycoss]

tycoss,

thank you for advice. Will research the treads related to the yamadori spruce threads.

once I get them transferred to a training pot is it ok to put in direct sun or a week or two in the shade a better route until they look like they are on the mend...if in fact that is what happens!

I have always put mine in full sun, but that is in April or May in Alberta (zone 3). Partial shade this time of year in your zone may be called for. Perhaps someone nearer to you will chime in?

 

[Colorado]

You might as well try your forest planting since they’ve already been bare rooted. I am not optimistic for your chances of success.

They will probably fry very quickly in full sun after being bare rooted and repotted in the middle of summer. Even my established Spruce get some shade in the heat of summer. Spruce are not Pines.

I just got a yamadori blue spruce that was dug back in May. That will stay in “mostly shade” until temperatures fall back into the mid to lower 80s. An hour or two of morning sun is probably okay.

 

[penumbra]

I realize you are a newbee and I wish you the best. At least you have the potential to learn a hard lesson right out of the gate. It is a terrible time to buy plants through the mail, especially plants without a pot. If you feel you have to do it at least be very certain your seller knows what they are doing.
Pot them up in a good mix with some organics and put them in shade or dappled sun at most. I would personally pot them all up together.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Your problem is they are full sun, high drainage trees that need to be protected from July high heat and direct sun because they have not been acclimated by planting in early spring. The roots will not take being constantly wet, but will die if allowed to dry out. It gets worse. These were probably packaged for sale last ~November~ and have exceeded the quiescence period by twice and are ready to bolt when planted. They will need light, but be sensitive to it. Don't mess with the roots. Put them in the ground with good drainage in full sun and don't pot them up in a forest until spring of 2022, or else.

 

[Adair M]

If these were mine, I’d plant them in a grow box that’s filled with 4 inches of pumice.

I’d water two times a day, wetting the foliage each time. Or water once, but mist the foliage several times a day. Shade during the hottest time of the day.

Good luck.

 

[visualist74]

You people are amazing with the knowledge, ideas and guidance.

So I woke up this morning with the ‘glass is half empty’ mentality. Grabbed everything went outside to the cool morning and unpacked the material. Man...the glass has a way of looking different sometimes! Forsoothe, I think you’d be correct. Sure looks like they have been packaged for quite some time...varying degrees of death, mold and sadness. Even the last image showing the 3 ‘salvageable‘ trees looks daunting. Pretty disappointed but surely a good learning lesson. Had hoped back in May they would have been shipped faster or not at all until Fall...quit surprised actually to find them at the doorstep yesterday.

I will take everyone’s advice when I try this again from a local nursery early next Spring. Again I appreciate everyone’s excellent advice and help...plan to continue to learn as I go and ask way more silly questions then necessary!

 

[Forsoothe!]

Wash them off and plant them, unless you think you can return them and the expense for that is worth the effort.

 

[visualist74]

Wash them off and plant them, unless you think you can return them and the expense for that is worth the effort.

Ok,

min gunna let er rip. I’ve got a well drained 20”x8”X5” grown platter. Will squeeze in as many as I can in as good of a layout I can conjure up.

this could be the last question...many of these guys have roots that are just as long as the tree themselves. Is it best just to layout the root system as best I can over pumis w/organic on top?