Picea

[Rory]

I don't have many exotics, but I love the smell of this one. I bought it at the Newcastle Bonsai Show a few years back from a collection that was for sale.
Sorry about the light for the photo. The photo makes it look sickly. Its just bad lighting.

I haven't done anything to it yet except feed it and give it sun. It needs to get back to a healthy state first. Its already looking much better than when I took this photo. Its been at Bonsai World for a few years doing nothing, and I finally have the space now to look after it.

A friend once told me not to go too hard on cutting these back as they bleed to death if you do. I have zero experience with picea.
I have been occasionally rotating it for sunlight exposure which has greatly helped with the weaker areas.
I trimmed it a bit at the start of spring to allow light to penetrate the lower areas, and it didn't bother it in the slightest.

For those of you that are experienced at growing Picea, in regards to their maintenance are there any significant DOs or DON'TS?

The below photo was taken a few months ago:




The below photo was taken a year ago, while recovering at Bonsai World:

[Matthew]

I have basically no experience with these but im wondering if you are not getting enough of a dormant period over winter in the central coast ? most Picea require a cold winter with a lasting dormant period . With regards to pruning defiantly don't take back to bare wood and like a lot of conifers these are generally apex dominant so the lower branches can weaken if care isent exercised .

[willi654]

It has branchlets that regularly hang downwards, and the biggest cones of any spruce, 9– 17 cm (3 1⁄2– 6 3⁄4 in) long. It is firmly identified with the Siberian spruce (Picea obovata), which replaces it east of the Ural Mountains, and with which it hybridizes freely.Care for spruce trees by controlling issues that emerge. You can control arachnid bugs by discharging common adversaries onto the tree. Characteristic foes are creepy crawlies that murder vermin without additionally harming the coveted tree. Ruthless bugs can be acquired from plant supply retailers. For more serious invasions, maintain a strategic distance from unforgiving concoction pesticides, which frequently result in expanded bug populaces. Pick rather for oil based green oils and plant-based oils, for example, neem, canola, or cottonseed oils. For weevil invasions, no control alternatives are accessible other than pruning influenced plant parts as upkeep. For control of needlecast illness, look after soggy, mulched soil. Apply a fungicide with the dynamic fixing chlorothalonil for synthetic control.

[Watto]

Hi Rory, I have a few Picea (three different varieties) and they grow fairly well in this area - hot dry summers and cool winters.
Advice from well meaning people originally scared me from working on them but over time I have decided on a system that works for me.
1) I only work on one area in a year. If I do some branch trimming/pruning I will not touch the roots for a year or so, and vice versa.
2) As a general rule I do pruning and wiring in one session and that is usually in late September before bud burst (here their bud burst is later that other trees)
3) The initial potting form black plastic to bonsai pot is the most stressful and I try to pot into a pot larger than really necessary so I can reduce the root ball by only about 50% (give or take a little bit). Of course in subsequent pottings you can reduce the root ball further.
4) Standard bonsai care, water, fertilizer and disease care as normal.
5) Humidity may be your enemy.
Good luck with it.