Can this 'wild' tree be a bonsai ?

Hello everyone,

I am a beginner so i'm sorry if these are stupid questions.
( i'm looking to get in a local bonsai club soon )

I found this tree growing in open ground and it looked nice to me,
It has a nice trunk and it is a small tree ...

So i wanted to know what species this tree is,
and if it is used to create bonsai ?

A total vieuw

Another total vieuw ( sorry for quality with cellphone )

Here is a closer vieuw of the trunk and the leafs are also visible


I realy hope this is a 'Tree' and that it is used by bonsai artists.
Again i'm a total noob in bonsai so sorry if these questions are old and repeated.

Best regards,
peter.

Its a dwarf spruce ... a cultivar , not a bonsai But you can use it for bonsai .

to bad
then i shall leave it in peace.

I will go to my local bonsai store to buy one, and become a member
else i will never learn everything ...

Thanks for your time

Pepee wrote:to bad
then i shall leave it in peace.

I will go to my local bonsai store to buy one, and become a member
else i will never learn everything ...

Thanks for your time

Hi Peepee

It 'could' make an excellent Bonsai, I would just leave it be for now and look to get some knowledge and a little experience under your belt first, so do not consider it as a complete no-no.

See if there is a local Bonsai club in your area; go along and talk to the members, they will be only too pleased to offer you help and advice. It may be likely that someone in the club will be able to set you up with a couple of trees to learn on. Some species are very forgiving and this lets you experiment a little.

I'd try to wait before purchasing from a Bonsai nursery...try the club first.

Good luck and welcome to what is (IMO) one of the most rewarding and satisfying of all passions.

Mike

When collecting from the wild, keeping the tree alive after collecting is the challenge. This is one reason to join a local club, they will help you learn when and how to best collect trees.
It is also IMPERATIVE that you receive permission from the landowner before collecting. Failure to do so can get you arrested or in my part of the world SHOT!

Billy M. Rhodes wrote:When collecting from the wild, keeping the tree alive after collecting is the challenge. This is one reason to join a local club, they will help you learn when and how to best collect trees.
It is also IMPERATIVE that you receive permission from the landowner before collecting. Failure to do so can get you arrested or in my part of the world SHOT!

Well that has changed my mind about coming over the pond for a collecting holiday Billy

On a serious note (if getting shot wasn't) wise words Billy though and well said.

Mike

Thank you all for your advise !

i deffinetly don't want to get shot
but i understand that if i would take it out of the ground now,
it would most likely die because of my lack of experience.

I will go to my local bonsai club this week and ask for advice,
and a tree i can begin with to start my epic journey.
I can't wait to be a bonsai master
But i know it will take years of practice and learning.

Thanks again !
And i will deffinetly post pictures ( And questions ) of my first tree !

best regards,
Peter.

I think there is some misunderstanding here.
Your "wild" tree is a dwarf Alberta spruce, Picea glauca 'Conica.' I assume you found it growing in somebody's yard, not out in the woods. We also assume you will get permission from the owner to dig it up. Dwarf Alberta spruce is often used for bonsai. It is not the greatest subject, but it is a good one for a beginner to practice on. Dig it up next spring. It may be tricky because it is leaning right against that big tree. Get as many roots as you can. Then plant it in the ground for a year or two until it recovers.
Iris

bonsaisr wrote:I think there is some misunderstanding here.
Your "wild" tree is a dwarf Alberta spruce, Picea glauca 'Conica.' I assume you found it growing in somebody's yard, not out in the woods. We also assume you will get permission from the owner to dig it up. Dwarf Alberta spruce is often used for bonsai. It is not the greatest subject, but it is a good one for a beginner to practice on. Dig it up next spring. It may be tricky because it is leaning right against that big tree. Get as many roots as you can. Then plant it in the ground for a year or two until it recovers.
Iris

Sorry Iris, that went over my head...what precisely is the..'I think there is some misunderstanding here.'

Mike

Mike Jones wrote:

bonsaisr wrote:I think there is some misunderstanding here.
Your "wild" tree is a dwarf Alberta spruce, Picea glauca 'Conica.' I assume you found it growing in somebody's yard, not out in the woods. We also assume you will get permission from the owner to dig it up. Dwarf Alberta spruce is often used for bonsai. It is not the greatest subject, but it is a good one for a beginner to practice on. Dig it up next spring. It may be tricky because it is leaning right against that big tree. Get as many roots as you can. Then plant it in the ground for a year or two until it recovers.
Iris

Sorry Iris, that went over my head...what precisely is the..'I think there is some misunderstanding here.'

Mike

Your right, i was thinking it is not 'normally' used for bonsai.
It is in my new garden so i have permission to dig it up.

But i will leave it i think, i'm getting a few beginner tree's ( from my local club ) to see if my basic skills are good.
( like watering, fertilizing, ... keeping it alive basicly )

Thanks for This info !

Mike Jones wrote: Sorry Iris, that went over my head...what precisely is the..'I think there is some misunderstanding here.'

Possibly Iris is referring to an earlier statement in this thread that said the tree is '...not a bonsai but can be used for bonsai'. Although it's probably not what the poster meant, a beginner might take the statement as meaning that "bonsai" grow naturally as bonsai - ie some sort of genetic dwarfing - rather than being standard trees whose smaller size is brought about by applying bonsai techniques.

But Pepee did ask if it can be used for bonsai, so I think he is already aware of the situation.

That was my take on things anyway.

Pepee, even if you don't plan to use this tree for bonsai, I suggest you move it next spring. It is a fairly good landscape tree, but it needs to be in the sun, not close to a big tree.
Iris

Hi Pepee, in regard to your original question, in my own experience the Dwarf Alberta Spruce is just one of the finest little trees for a beginner or the more experienced. They are hardy and resilient, real troopers. They are prone to die back of the inner parts if the outer foliage is not thinned to let light in. You'll have fun learning with this tree.

ok so i looked a little around the tree to see if i could ( in spring ) take it out.
( i looked 4 cm under ground around the tree )

Why ? : there is a big tree next to it and allot of ivy and some other stuff i can't name.
-------- So there is roots EVERYWHERE ... even a meter away from it ... ( small fine roots but they are roots )

now my question is how do i go about getting this tree out of the ground ?

- do i go down with a shovel 20 cm (8 inches) around the tree and take that all out ?
- or should find wich root belongs to what and try to seperate everything and puzzle it out ?
- none of the above

Thanks for your time!
Regards,
peter.

First of all do no more "prospecting" now as you stand a good chance of damaging roots and rendering the prospect of collecting a dead tree in spring. Next spring, use a sharp spade to chop down vertically to obtain as large a rootball as the surrounding big tree's roots will allow. About ten to twelve inches away from the little trunk should do for a tree of that size. Once out of the ground use a hose to wash all soil off and you should then be able to sort which roots belong to your tree and which are from the larger one. Gently tease out the ones that aren't connected to anything. Plant your new tree in very free draining, inorganic mix water thoroughly and place in part shade for a few weeks. Then gradually introduce to more sun.

Kev Bailey wrote:First of all do no more "prospecting" now as you stand a good chance of damaging roots and rendering the prospect of collecting a dead tree in spring. Next spring, use a sharp spade to chop down vertically to obtain as large a rootball as the surrounding big tree's roots will allow. About ten to twelve inches away from the little trunk should do for a tree of that size. Once out of the ground use a hose to wash all soil off and you should then be able to sort which roots belong to your tree and which are from the larger one. Gently tease out the ones that aren't connected to anything. Plant your new tree in very free draining, inorganic mix water thoroughly and place in part shade for a few weeks. Then gradually introduce to more sun.

Ok, i understand.
But getting the 'other' roots out of it's roots does not mean i can rootprune it yet and put it in a smaller pot ?

from what i understand is :
I take the tree out like you said ( in spring ) and take the other roots out of it ( if it has any )
Then i put the whole big rootball/tree in a large pot with the free draining mix and let it grow like that for 1-2 years ?
( i don't have free space in free ground in the sun... only free ground with 100% shade because of the big tree's that are above )
And after THAT i can begin styling/rootpruning/etc...

Thanks for your time !
regards,
peter.

You got it!

Alright !!
awesome ! i can't wait until spring haha :p

Thank you all so much !!!
i realy learned allot !