This is a Norway Spruce grown by a friend from seed about five years ago. When I got it, it was growing in a three gallon pot. I removed it from the pot, cut off about 2/3 of the root ball and planted it in the ground on a tile in Summer of 2011. The nebari (surface roots) and trunk base have both increased noticeably in size since then and the trunk just above the root flare is now1 3/8" in diameter. I would like it to be at least 2" before I start training it as a bonsai, so I expect to leave it in the ground another two years to thicken up. I do plan on pruning the roots on two sides this Spring, and the other two sides next Spring to prepare it for digging up the following year.
I think you can see from this picture that the trunk does have some nice movement. I can increase the taper after chopping it down and carving the tip into a deadwood "snag top".
Here's the tree in October with Isaac (40" tall). The trunk caliper is now 2" so I'm torn whether to give it another year in the ground or dig it up next Spring and put it in a training pot. I'd like it to be 2 1/2" for a finished height of 19".
I photographed these two trees in Yosemite last summer, and I think they may serve as models for the bonsai.
Here are two spruce bonsai that I really admire, because I think they capture and epitomize the qualities I've seen in a lot of wild Spruces.
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