Picea pungens – Colorado Blue Spruce Bonsai #2 – Colorado Rocky Mountain Bonsai

This Picea Pungens – Colorado Blue Spruce tree was collected by the legendary yamadori collector Jerry Morris who is a member of the Rocky Mountain Bonsai Society. In addition to collect yamadori trees Jerry is Internationally famous for developing hundreds of miniature conifer trees of all type. Jerry grafted, grew and then sent growing stock to nurseries all over the world free of charge. This was before there were restrictions in place.

I purchased the tree several years ago and International Bonsai Master Michael Hagedorn and I worked on this tree in a workshop together. Michael managed to convince me to kill off a major upright trunk and the tree was styled. Disaster struck the tree and it became ill and all branches died off except the one currently on the tree. Out with Michaels design since most of it was now dead, no fault of Michaels. I let this tree recover its health for a round 3 years. I just moved it into the workshop on Sat. 9-26-2020 (actually the garage) but workshop sounds cooler! The tree was designed during the evening. One of the two largest branches was pullied over closer to the trunk. The branches were all wired with aluminum wire of the right size. The branches were moved into several different pads. I am mostly known for natural Bonsai designs, but today would be different and I would go with pads with negative space between. It has the look of a much more traditional Bonsai tree this way.

I did change the planting angle buy sticking a 4 x 4 hunk of would under the pot directly back of the trunk. I may even change the planting angle a little more moving it forward.

The tree does have incredible deadwood on it which is the main feature. There is one section where a jin was created by me. Michael Hagedorn loved my jin work so much he had the whole class come over and look it. It has now aged and you can tell it apart from the natural jin and shari.

The tree will be left alone for a while and a search will begin for a pot for the tree.

Gallery 05-09-2021:

Here is a photo of the tree in its new Sara Rayner Bonsai pot. The photo is not the best, perhaps I will take another one of it in better light.

Picea pungens – Blue Spruce Bonsai

Gallery 10-17-2020:

I took some new photos of the tree at a different planting angle. I think the tree looks much better now. I may have to take some photography lessons, as I stink taking photos.