Hello,

I am brand new to the forum and also brand new to bonsai. I just picked up a nursery stock tree (Norway Spruce) from Menards and I pruned and wired it to my best ability. My question is would it be too much to re-pot it after doing this procedure? I plan on putting it in a pot with 1/3 akadama, 1/3 pumice, and 1/3 lava. I took off a significant amount of foliage as you can see in the pictures I'm including. If its best to wait to repot it... then when would be the best time. I live in Chicago, IL and we have extreme winters and summers. Any advice tips/would be appreciated. Thank you.

The answer is do not re pot. The question is why do you want to re pot? There are no pictures.

First of all, you can attach the pictures direct in the forum. Many members dont like to click on unknown links.

Great that you got your first tree, welcome to an addictive hobby . As all newbees you have done the usual misstake. When you get a new tree, the priority is to learn how to take care of it. That may take one or two growing seasons. During this period dont do anything more than watering and reading up on the species. In the northern hemisphere the norway spruce should be in the growth phase now. That means pruning and wiering us very stressful for it. So most likelly it will need at least those two years to recover. No more stress for this tree in a while. Bonsai is a maraton, not a sprint. Do not repot.

Thank you for the answers so far, that is very helpful. I will allow time to take care of the tree and not cause any more stress on it. Here are the pictures (without links). Obviously one is before and one is after. Hopefully I didn't harm the tree too much and we can bounce back strong.

The choice to repot was mostly stylistically but someone also told me that spring was the best time to repot spruce. Theres so much information out there I figured it would be best to get more opinions. For now I will try to just keep this tree as healthy as possible.

Timing can differ in different locations. And maybe the tree has been traveling a few growing zones from producer, to store and then to you. Which is stressful and demands recovery. For most of us in northern hemisphere the window to make work on the tree is over. Look at the before picture. The light green tips on every branch is this years growth. That is the sign that its too late to work on the tree. Theese should be let grow fully before reduced to 25-75 % depending on style and vigour. You removed all of them before they were fully extended, that is very stressful for the tree.

My answer remains the same, do not repot. Adding: It looks like you keep the tree indoors. If so, move it outdoors right away. Spruces dont survive indoors.

Thank you all of that makes a lot of sense. Good to know for future trees. Also thanks for inquiring about tree location I just brought it inside to have a white backdrop after wiring for the photo but the tree stays outside.

Yep, seems like you made a lot there at once.
But you made it quite well, looks good...

Just remember that you don't need to make it all at once if it's not a demonstration, take your time.

I second Albas. Looks good, hope it survives.