A spruce from a $15 garden-center tree, turned into a bonsai in four years
Cheap nursery stock is where most of us start, so this beginner-friendly spruce project caught my eye. Bonsai Empire took a five-year-old Picea abies from a local garden center, which cost about 15 USD, and followed it for roughly four years until it looked like a real bonsai.
The first step was repotting. The tree sat in poor, mostly organic soil, so it went into a mix of akadama, lava rock and pumice. They picked a round pot on purpose, so the tree's front could be decided later, and they did not style it yet. I like that patience: the tree gets time to settle before anyone starts cutting.
About six months later came the first styling, with pruning and wiring that left plenty of branches in place to keep options open. A year after that the branches were pruned again and detail-wired, which meant around two years of work had gone in. Then the tree was simply left to grow for about two years while the roots filled the pot and the branches thickened and ramified.
The second repotting removed old soil, trimmed the roots and moved the tree into fresh substrate and a pot chosen for the final design. The authors say that doing a little work per session, rather than one big overhaul, kept the project moving and developed the tree faster.
Personally, I find this reassuring. You do not need an expensive pre-bonsai to get started, and spruce is a species many beginners overlook. The lesson is mostly about restraint and timing.
Source: Bonsai Empire
The first step was repotting. The tree sat in poor, mostly organic soil, so it went into a mix of akadama, lava rock and pumice. They picked a round pot on purpose, so the tree's front could be decided later, and they did not style it yet. I like that patience: the tree gets time to settle before anyone starts cutting.
About six months later came the first styling, with pruning and wiring that left plenty of branches in place to keep options open. A year after that the branches were pruned again and detail-wired, which meant around two years of work had gone in. Then the tree was simply left to grow for about two years while the roots filled the pot and the branches thickened and ramified.
The second repotting removed old soil, trimmed the roots and moved the tree into fresh substrate and a pot chosen for the final design. The authors say that doing a little work per session, rather than one big overhaul, kept the project moving and developed the tree faster.
Personally, I find this reassuring. You do not need an expensive pre-bonsai to get started, and spruce is a species many beginners overlook. The lesson is mostly about restraint and timing.
Source: Bonsai Empire
Comments 0
Leave the first comment, in any language.
Log in to comment