bird nest spruce nidiformis

I have a spruce in a gal nursery pot i found yesterday at my local nursery....questions... when to prune?? do they bud back well?? this is a bushy little thing i got just to play with...does anyone have one of these spruce that is bonsaied i could see????THANK YOU very much for your information....take care john

Birds Nest Spruce is undoubtedly Picea abies 'Nidiformis,' a variety of Norway spruce. (There is also a cultivar of Picea glauca by that name [if I recall correctly] but it is not common.)
Yes, it is widely used for bonsai. In fact, there is one in the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. There is a picture on Flickr. Go to Bonsai4Me. He will probably tell you when to prune spruce. It will probably bud back more than you want.
Iris

MRS IRIS,,,I thank you for your response,,,i saw this tree and thought i would give it a try...thanks take care john

They do bud back but not like a deciduous tree would. For main branches I think you'll be limited to working with what you've got (unless you have the patience of a saint), but it all depends how strong the living vein is going to the parts you're working on. Just keep in mind that the tree won't begin to heal until spring. If you have cold winters it might be good to protect it but I saw a blog post a month ago about working on a big bird's nest spruce so I assume now is the time and you can see the before/after for that one too. Good luck and show us what you come up with!

The blog article: Birds Nest Spruce bonsai before/after