Raising spruce as a bonsai

Is the spruce even suitable as a bonsai?

Many different trees are suitable as bonsai. A distinction must be made between plants for indoor cultivation and garden bonsai. The spruce is hardy and is suitable for both variants. So you can also use this tree as a bonsai in your garden cultivate. However, there it needs good winter protection.

Which spruce is best?

Slow-growing species of spruce are particularly suitable for training in bonsai. The most popular type of bonsai is the ajan spruce (bot. Picea jezoensis) from East Asia. In Europe, however, this spruce is not grown and is also not very widespread.

With a sugar loaf spruce (bot. Picea glauca conica), a Sakhalin spruce (bot. Picea glehnii) or a silver spruce (bot. Picea pungens) are easy to achieve, even for beginners, especially when working with cuttings that are already lignified. But also dwarf forms of the common or common spruce (bot. Picea abies) make a good bonsai.

Spruce trees suitable for bonsai:

• Ayan spruce, bot. Picea jezoensis
• Common spruce (red spruce, common spruce), bot. Picea abies, especially dwarf forms of it
• Sakhalin spruce, bot. Picea glehnii
• Piercing spruce, bot. Picea pungens
• Sugarloaf spruce, bot. Picea glauca conica

How do I grow a spruce into a bonsai?

Regular Cut and wire is necessary to bring the spruce into a beautiful shape. When repotting, which should be done about every two to four years, you also prune the root ball.

How do I care for my bonsai spruce?

Basically, the spruce likes a sunny Location, but as a bonsai it is grateful for light shade in summer. As a bonsai spruce usually in the pot or grown in a bowl, the root ball can easily freeze in winter. The tree cannot draw enough water from the ground and the Needles turn brown.

Sufficient watering is just as important as regular watering Fertilize. Every two weeks you provide your bonsai spruce with a special bonsai fertilizer. In September you can slowly adjust the fertilizer application until the budding has finished in spring.

Bonsai spruce - short care instructions:

• place in partial shade in summer
• Protect from frost and icy wind in winter
• Keep the soil constantly moist in summer, only moderately moist in winter and spring
• Avoid waterlogging
• fertilize every 14 days from spring to September
• prune regularly
• Root cut approximately every 2 to 4 years