I'm new to bonsai and I found a spruce seedling in my yard in minnesota that looks promising. I pulled it out of the ground and got about 2/3 of its roots. It's about 9 in. tall I placed it in a pot with a mix of black dirt and bonsai soil (calcined clay, lava rock, pumice, and pine bark fines). It gets about 2-3 hours of direct sunlight and several hours of indirect sunlight. I'm thinking I'd probably water it once every 2-3 days. Its been 3 days now since I potted it and some already slightly yellow-brown branches and needles are more yellow-brown. I'm looking for some advice on what to do next. When should I start training it? Will it be strong enough to start training this winter? Should I fertilize it yet this as it's autumn in Minnesota right now? Am I watering it enough? Too much? Is it getting enough sun. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks ahead of time. Attached is the seedling as of today.
Spruce Seedling in Minnesota
- Thread starter Willster
- Start date
Desert O'Piñon
Chumono
First off, did you dig it or pull it? Ideally, you want to keep the root ball intact. Secondly it's probably not the best time of year for collecting, repotting or transplanting trees. Third, I'm terrible with identification, but your tree looks to me more like an eastern red cedar, which is actually a juniper.
I wouldn't do anything with your tree until spring of 2026. Give it time to grow and recover so that it's strong enough for next steps. It just went through a trauma.
This time of year in Minnesota, I imagine your temps are not very warm. Full sun all day won't hurt it; it needs as much energy as possible before winter dormancy. Watering is the first and trickiest aspect of bonsai to manage. You don't want the roots wet. But you don't want them dried out, either. I'm in the desert, so it's hard for me to recommend a watering regimen for a cooler, wet climate.
Welcome to the forum! Lots of good advice here, and lots of people willing to help!
I wouldn't do anything with your tree until spring of 2026. Give it time to grow and recover so that it's strong enough for next steps. It just went through a trauma.
This time of year in Minnesota, I imagine your temps are not very warm. Full sun all day won't hurt it; it needs as much energy as possible before winter dormancy. Watering is the first and trickiest aspect of bonsai to manage. You don't want the roots wet. But you don't want them dried out, either. I'm in the desert, so it's hard for me to recommend a watering regimen for a cooler, wet climate.
Welcome to the forum! Lots of good advice here, and lots of people willing to help!
Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
Only you can tell us the answer to those questions. Watering regime depends on ambient conditions, time of year, size of pot, type of potting soil, sun and a host of other factors. The only way to tell is to check in the soil. If it's damp you don't need to water. If the soil (under the surface) is getting dry then it's time to water. Trees tend to need less water immediately after transplant because the roots have been disrupted. As they start to grow again they'll start using more and more water. For recently transplanted trees I tend to err on the slightly wet side rather than dry. The tree is already stressed so doesn't need additional stress from being too dry.
2-3 hours of Autumn sun should be good after transplant. In a few weeks, if it's still OK, more sun would be good.
Some set back after transplant is normal as the roots have been compromised. With some luck new roots will grow and it will recover but some transplants just don't survive so hope for the best but expect worse. You seem to have done everything that should be done so now it's just wait to see what happens.
It may be getting just a fraction late in the season to be transplanting because it will get cold soon in Minnesota but often late summer and early Autumn are reasonable times to transplant, provided there's enough time for them to grow some new roots before dormancy.
I'm also one of the collectors that finds it much better to get rid of most of the field soil when transplanting. Garden soil in pots is not healthy for roots so I try to get rid of it ASAP and still get good results.
Agree that your tree is highly unlikely to be Spruce. The photos are too small to get a proper look to ID but juniper is much more likely.
Thanks for the reply! I should have been more clear. I dug it up until the roots were loose enough to pull the rest of the way. It wasn't growing in good soil and not much of it stuck to the roots. I know that it's not the ideal time to collect trees, but I was doubtful it would survive the winter on its own in Minnesota. As for tree identification, I suppose it possible its a ceder, but it seemed too thorny to be one (an eastern red cedar anyway). I could very possibly be wrong, but I assumed it was a spruce because it grew pretty close to by neighbors norway spruce trees and I found a pinecone next to the seedling.
Desert O'Piñon
Chumono
If it had been a seedling from one of those trees, they got to be as mature as they are by surviving dozens of Minnesota winters. But we can only look forward from here. It is the spiky foliage that leads me to guess at ERC. Juvenile foliage is typically spiky or coarse like the pics indicate. It could be from one of the other trees, but I am still leaning toward ERC.
@Shibui is a veteran around here. I would put a lot more stock into his experience than in my own limited knowledge. I would consider it an honor to receive advice from him.
@Shibui is a veteran around here. I would put a lot more stock into his experience than in my own limited knowledge. I would consider it an honor to receive advice from him.
Thanks a lot for the advice. I was That soon was very soon as we had our first snowfall today. I was able to protect the tree from most of it, but it got some snow on it. It appears to be fine (although my already weak ceder seedling I collected a couple weeks ago didn't have as much luck and it snapped in half). I just hope it will have enough time to recover before it goes dormant. Most trees have not lost all of their leaves yet, so it hopefully will have time to recover a little bit. With big Minnesota temperatures swings, there are upper 50F in the forcast, so who knows how long it will be before it gets really cold. Do you have any advice when I should fertilize? I'm guessing I should wait to do most of it until spring if it makes it, but would a weaker fertilizer help it recover? I also agree now that it must be some kind of juniper. The seed mst have traveled quite a ways to get here, though. Thanks again.
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Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
Fertilizer won't help at this stage. The roots probably can't take up much right now and it should be preparing to shut down for winter. A boost of fertilizer can sometimes stimulate growth instead of dormancy and you don't want that at this stage of the year. The tree should have enough food and energy stored to get through the winter, even though it has been transplanted.
Snow is probably not a big problem for plants. Snow tends to be just below freezing and actually insulates many plants from the real cold that comes in winter. If you have already been growing potted plants you'll probably already have winter strategies but if not, you should do some research on how to manage potted plants through your winters. No good asking me for that sort of advice as we don't experience that sort of cold you go through each year.
Snow is probably not a big problem for plants. Snow tends to be just below freezing and actually insulates many plants from the real cold that comes in winter. If you have already been growing potted plants you'll probably already have winter strategies but if not, you should do some research on how to manage potted plants through your winters. No good asking me for that sort of advice as we don't experience that sort of cold you go through each year.
