AusBonsai

I have some multi trunk Picea glauca about 30cm tall and would like to have one or two of the taller trunks as deadwood.
Would someone advise me which is the best season to remove the bark. Should I just remove a ring of bark and let the remainder die?
This is my first attempt at this so any advice would be appreciated

As long as there is plenty of foliage you could do that at almost any time. It is said that October is probably the best time though.

Hi Greenmarble,
You can create deadwood at any time but it is easier if the tree is growing because the bark strips off easier then. To create deadwood use a sharp knife to cut through the bark where the dead wood is to stop (that's so you don't accidentally strip the bark too far while you are stripping it off) then use pliers or similar to squash the bark where you want dead wood. That will separate the bark from the wood underneath and make it easy to strip off the bark leaving shiny white wood.
If you kill the branch/ trunk but leave the bark attached and let it dry out it will stick onto the wood really hard and is very difficult to get it off later.

Thanks for the advice. With winter upon us I thought that I'd give it a go to see how difficult it is to remove the bark from one of the trunks. It was a couple of hours and was a bit difficult particularly around close branches but a good experience. There was very little sap from the cut which would be typical for winter. When October comes around I'll try one of the other trunks to see what it is like when the tree is growing. Thanks again.