Spruce Bonsai Care Guide

Spruce bonsai demand full sun across the growing season. When planted in a pot, frost protection and semi-shade is advisable during winter. 

Thorough watering as soon as the soil feels dry but allow the roots to dry in between waterings. During winter, the spruce can be watered less but be sure to not let the rootball completely dry out. 

Feed with solid organic fertiliser every month or liquid fertiliser weekly across the growing season. Leaf feeding with bring a dark shade of green out of the foliage. A liquid fertiliser with chelates can be sprayed over the leaves using a mister. 

Spruce present a unique challenge for pruning as they grow several whorls of branches at a time. Ideally you should only look to keep one branch of an entire whorl this is particularly true for the lower half of the tree. Back budding is not viable with this speices. Pruning back longer branches should be done by shortening them down to near the trunk. 

Spruce Bonsai have very pliable branches that respond well to wiring without snapping. Best times for styling are late summer of the early spring. Thinner branches can be styled in any given direction but they can take years to hold their desired position. Spruce bonsai are likely to take multiple rewiring efforts. We also recommend using wires that match the branch’s thickness: if the wire you choose is too thick you will damage the bark. If it is too thin, it won’t be effective.

Repotting your tree is an important way to provide a fresh and suitable soil mix and ensure appropriate root health. Spruce bonsai require repotting every two to four years, older Spruce will take long intervals. When repotting only prune the roots faintly. Older spruce in particular will suffer considerably from loosing large roots.

Trees that are ready for repotting will require root pruning, a suitable new pot and appropriate soil mix.

When repotting, do not cut back the root mass by a large amount, and choose a well-draining soil mix that has a neutral or slightly higher PH value of 5-6 but not over 7. We tend to use a mixture of different speciality bonsai soils on our trees. Every species is different so please contact us for free soil-mix advice or to take advantage of our repotting service.