Ireena, let me help you to name your pics: #1 Picea abies 'Ohlendorffii' #2 Picea abies 'Rothenhaus' #3 Picea abies 'Cranstonii' #4 Picea abies 'Pachyphylla' #5 Picea abies 'Reflexa' (staked for a while) #6 Picea abies 'Phylicoides' #7 Picea obovata 'Aurea' (?)

Hej Fotisr, That is astonishing. Not only how it can withstand the heath (drought is relative, if someone gives it water than Athens is not that dry in that particular place..). On averag in summer, Athens with its heatisle effect is the warmest place in Europe on average. The Guadalquivir region and Guadiana region in Spain and Portugal are a lot warmer during the day (37-38 C average max) but also much caller at night. So this is incredible to have those trees doing so well. The Picea abies does not look very good I have to say, but it is reasonable. The Pungens is looking absolutely great! Also, Athens being in the Attican valley is heavily polluted. It is extreme but it depends a little on where you are in Athens. Of course there are the hills within the city (the observatory for instance) and mountains that surround Athens and now have become Athens and reach 800 m high or so. At that height, the story is quite different. There is a strong inversion, so even a few metres up things change and it is less polluted an also less warm. But we are still talking about 33 C as daytime max in summer and very high air pollution. These trees do very well and I take my hat off for them! Thanks for sharing.

First, not a common tree by any stretch of the imagination. Second, not particularly known for having a great deal of tolerance for stressful urban conditions. And not the slightest bit drought tolerant, either. Usually urban street trees are tough troopers - maples, sycamores, hornbeams, lindens, gleditsia, crabapples or purple leaf plums - not foo-foo (as Ken would say :-)) or somewhat fussier species like dogwoods, Japanese maples, Styrax or Stewartias. I'd have some hope for this tree as 1) it is containerized and not sidewalk planted and is likely tended by the property owners who might really care, rather than faceless city workers, and 2) it is located in Vancouver BC, which like many other major PNW cities, is extremely tree-conscious.

in my book.. the weirder the better ... and you have a great one ... you did nothing wrong ... let the tree be the tree ... no real need to force your aesthetic on it ... and surely no reason to beat yourself up about something you didnt do ... i would landscape the area around it .. rather than trying to make it into something it isnt ... looking forward ... all i would consider.. is what to do with the 2 vertical leaders ... remove one.. the other.. both ... hard to tell on this pic.. what do the rest of you think??? whats the wire looking thing at 3 oclock on the pic??? it is.. what it is... and when it fails.. so be it .. there really isnt much you can do about it ... other than cutting off the whole arm.. and letting the right leader go up .. and then.. at best.. you will have a plant that looks like everyone elses ... ho hum ... ken