My Trees > Colorado Blue Spruce 3

Picea pungens
Colorado Blue Spruce 3

This isn’t a windswept tree yet. But it’s already a weathered one. And shaping it with that in mind - not to fix it, but to free it - it’ll end up being something better than elegant. It’ll be something honest. It’s not here to be polished. It’s here to remind us what it means to survive, to grow in spite of life's storms, to hold form even when time and trial take their toll.

Provenance

This was purchased at the estate sale of Janet Payne in Gresham, OR, upon losing her husband and bonsai enthusiast. It was facilitated by Lee Cheatle from the Portland Bonsai Association. I volunteered in the sale and was able to also pick up this beautiful forest. To be on time I drove down the night before and camped 30 minutes away in Paradise Point State Park, near Woodland, WA. It is an honor to become the next caretaker for this tree.

Background

  • Estimated Origin: March 1969
  • Training Since: June 2000
  • Acquired: May 18, 2024
  • Progression: Yamadori

Tree Details

  • Style: Informal Upright
  • Container: Oval Training Pot
  • Exhibition Ready: No

About Colorado Blue Spruce 3

This is not a beginner’s spruce. It’s a tree with age you can feel, not just count. Collected decades ago and trained on and off for 25 years, it carries the wear of time and the dignity of survival.

The bark is coarse and mature, the color a muted steel-blue in good light. Its silhouette, though unrefined, speaks of resilience more than control. It has been topped and still it stands.

There’s an imbalance in the branch taper—the apex once overfed, the lower limbs too thin—but that, too, can be part of the story. A future windswept or semi-formal upright is not out of reach. What it lacks in symmetry, it more than makes up for in presence. And the nebari? Strong. Wide. Rooted like it belongs to the mountain that never moved.

This tree is a teacher. It doesn’t ask to be made beautiful; it asks for understanding. Then respectful, moderated action.

10-Year Plan for Colorado Blue Spruce 3

Respect the age. Reveal the truth. And work slowly.

Years 1–2: Stability and Reset

  • Continue letting the tree gain strength post-emergency repot (2024) and relocation (2025).
  • Fertilize lightly in spring and fall with low-nitrogen mix to support balanced energy.
  • Determine strategy of how to let lower two branches run with sacrifice leaders to thicken them slowly over 2–3 seasons to improve relative branch thicknesses.
  • Control growth on the apex/top branch to keep it compact and counter apical dominance.

Stabilize structure and let the tree regain balance between root and foliage mass. Though unlikely, maybe we can even get some backbudding somewhere.

Years 3–5: Primary Structure Definition

  • Repot into a slant and rotate the tree to tell a windswept story.
  • Use guy wires to reposition crossing top limb, avoiding aggressive wiring; the bark is brittle.
  • Lightly carve or hollow a portion of the original top to add more deadwood narrative: aged, not styled.

This is I'll begin to tell the story of the tree: wind, time, survival.

Years 6–8: Refinement and Movement

  • Train new leader upward and to the side as a windswept.
  • Begin defining pads through thinning and clip-prune techniques.
  • Apply selective jin and shari to reinforce the rugged feel. Use hand tools and patience—let age show.

By now, the silhouette should whisper rather than shout. Not perfection; but presence.

Years 9–10: Show Preparation

  • Begin preparing for local display - not because it's flawless, but because it holds a truth worth sharing.
  • Find a pot that can truly tell the story without competing with the tree.
  • Refine deadwood, tidy structure, manage moss and surface presentation
  • Write its story. Include Janet Payne, the emergency repot, the bench relocation. Trees like this deserve to be remembered.

Care Log

  • July 14, 2025

    Observation

    This tree is pushing nicely this year. It's clearly happy with the repot that was done last year and is quite happy in the pot now.

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  • May 31, 2025

    Other – Relocated

    Moved from the courtyard to the new backyard bench

  • July 8, 2024

    Repot – Emergency

    This tree was not draining at all and I couldn't get the roots the moisture they needed. Upon inspection and after some research I determined that it has Irish Moss instead of the typical moss. It apparently sends out deep roots and chokes the soil. See what PSBA member and YouTuber BenB says: Bonsai Tip: The beautiful but deadly Irish Moss. I did an emergency repot and Irish moss mitigation. I didn't have any calcined clay on hand to mix into the soil and give it some moisture holding ability, so it is planted in pure pummice. Following the repot I'll watch it closely as we head into hotter days, but I think it will be better off being able to get moisture despite the root disruption this late in the season.

  • May 22, 2024

    Observation

    Just taking some additinoal photos

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  • May 18, 2024

    Acquired

    I picked this up from Janet Payne in her estate sale after losing her husband. Lee Cheatle from the Portland Bonsai Association facilitated the sale and I was a volunteer helper there. This has wonderful age and both tells a story and presents a problem. The thickness of its three branches are reverse - the top is thickest and bottom thinnest. Also, the top branch crosses itself in it's current composition. Still a great tree and an interesting project. I'm pleased to make its aquaintance and glad to be entrusted with its care moving forward.

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