Mike: Welcome! Yours is a really interesting question, with a lot of information/ideas in it. The first thought I have is that some of the weeping Norway spruces can, and eventually do develop upright leaders. This may, or may not be a problem for what you want to do. I think 'Inversa' is in this category. For some of the others I have found a lot of contradictory information. Apparently some develop leaders only after long training, which may be why some sources say they will always be flat unless staked. I wish I could be of more help on the variety you should choose. As for the spacing, and I am guessing here, if you want to have an effect of curtains hanging down from horizontal lines, you don't want the trees too close together--the visual effect would be broken up too much by the verticals. Maybe 8' apart would be good--you don't want to wait forever for the horizontals to grow out and close the screen. Well, obviously I have never even thought about what you want to do, but the idea is beautiful and fascinating! --Spruce

Dave--(or anyone else?): I am really confused by these "weeping" Norway spruce cultivars. You show one picture of a 'Reflexa' that was not staked but is growing erect, then another picture of the same kind of tree that had to be staked. So, does this tree grow erect sometimes, and not all the time? As for the P. abies 'Frohburg' I find confusing statements. You say it needs to be staked or it will grow prostrate. Iseli nursery, and a couple of other places on-line, says it is an upright grower. Elsewhere I see a cultivar name P. abies 'Frohburg Prostrata,' with the 'Prostrata' sugggesting a flopping tree. So what am I supposed to think? Now in the Gotelli collection at the National Arboretum in DC they have two P. abies 'Inversa' trees. Both of these have picturesque irregular habits, but they are definately not prostrate. One, or I think both, have multiple erect trunks growing upright with severely pendulous side branches. I would like to grow one of these, but several sources say they will not grow upright. I have also seen another P. abies 'Inversa,' or so it is labelled, in the courtyard of the Winterthur museum in Delaware. This tree is also growing upright without any staking. And there is another similar tree growing prominently in the National Memorial Park in Fairfax, VA, but this tree has no label at all. I don't know if you have seen my postings in the trees forum under the topic "Large Willow" where I comment on the rampant confusion about golden weeping willows, but I may be even more confused and frustrated in trying to get information about the growth habit of these so-called weeping varieties of NS. I want to grow one or more, but what do I buy? And from whom? Are those I saw labelled 'Inversa' actually something that I can buy as 'Inversa," or is that an incorrect name? And this 'Frohburg' thing? Is there a 'Frohburg' that grows erect, and then another that is 'Frohburg Prostrata' that must always be staked--or which is more properly meant to grow along the ground. Of course, I assume that any of these that are potentially erect growers probably must be staked for a time, but from what I have seen with my own eyes (at the Nat Arb, and at Winterthur, and at the Nat Mem Park), at least one, and maybe more than one of these cultivars, can grow on their own after a period of time being staked, in at least some irregular erect fashion. So, is 'Inversa' one of these? Or 'Frohburg' or what? I have seen them, want one, but what one, or ones is/are it/they?? H E L P!! this is driving me nuts!! --Spruce

Some of the most beautiful Weeping Norway Spruce have their leaders cut off at 4 ft - 6 ft. They form a wide cascading umbrella shape. It looks like a totally different tree than the traditional up and over. It also fill a different space in the landscape. So unless you were tied to filling the vertical space make lemonade out of what you think is a lemon. I personally prefer the Norway growing horizontally and the Picea Glauca Pendula for the vertical space. Good luck and how about a picture.

A couple things stand out. Yellowing occurs with too much water-(retention). When planting the tree - no more than 1/3 organic matter should be used unless your soil is beyond horrific. You should check for spider mites - hold a piece of white paper under the yellowing foliage and bang it onto the paper and look for tiny bugs crawling about. I have a hunch it's water related, however. When a hole is dug and the backfill used is compost a bathtub effect is created. Additionally, long term if the roots were to take a liking to different organic matter apart from your native soil.. they will wind and wind themselves in the "better" media and won't grow into native soil, ultimately causing death. It seems (at least to me) that you used full compost when re-planting. That's not a good situation. .05 .05 .05 seems to be the NPK numbers; Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium, which don't have any effect. It's the amount of composted manure used during planting. Dax