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bushy growth vs upward trunk growth in one year old picea pungens

9 years ago

This seedling sprouted from seed last May. It was taking from my in-laws "fat Albert" most of the seedlings I see online and for sale or not nearly this bushy. The tree is 8 inches tall and over 6 inches wide. It has been exposed to 8 hours of sunlight a day and over the winter it was exposed to 12 plus hours of artificial light in my garage. I water it when the soil is totally dry at the surface which hasn't happened yet this spring with all the rain. It was fertilized last summer with a miracle grow mixture. Should I change something up here or is this variety of picea pungens supposed to grow in this manner. I don't plan on fertilizing it any more but did so before really doing any research on the whole process.

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
night pix .... hey.. wait a minute.. did you dig it up ... lol ...

night pix throw off color ...

it looks like a bird sown Juniperus virginiana ... which I CONSIDER an invasive weed in my MI ... [not a spruce.. nor a picea.. nor a pungens]

down south.. they are natives.. go figure on that ...

peeps around here ... dig them from gardens.. and sell them on the roadside ... i wish i had a ditchdriver.. and could mow them all down as i drive down the road ... unfortunately.. that is highly frowned upon ... lol

you could probably leave this one on the driveway.. with no water for the rest of the summer.. and it will prosper ... it does not need fert.. as they grow in my mineral sand w/o either, like weeds .. and it should.. most likely.. be allowed to go dormant in winter ....

compare yours to google images, especially in regard to actual color ...

ken

ps: probably sown by the bird who keeps landing on your pungens leaders and killing them ... see the vicious web we weave ...
coachjohnsonlp
Original Author
9 years ago
Wow! I pricked all 6 of my seedlings from directly underneath blue spruce trees at my inlaws property. All this time I just assumed I had some freaky spruce trees lol. I was wondering why all my seed sown spruce trees from this winter lol. I found a link to a pic of a mature specimen http://www.learn2grow.com/plants/juniperus-virginiana-burkii-images-large-112632/ It doesn't look that bad but definitely not a picea pungens lol.
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ok .....i have no reference gardens in slovenia.. lol ... just get hoopsi ... below is a pic of mine.. from a one gallon pot, one foot size.. and it grew according to the notes on the pic ... p pungens glauca ... is not much of a name.. it simply means blue.. hoopsii would be a 'better' selection of blue ... 'edit' .,... from your pic.. is a look alike to most of us... and not all that much different from hoopsi ... and you say you cant get it anyway ... koster is just an older cultivar ... basically a look alike to hoopsi ... and fat albert.. is somewhat fatter ... so you better have more foot space ... dont get me wrong.. there are some very small difference between them all ... but not enough.. for your purposes .. IMHO .... frankly.. hoopsi is the most stunning ... though i continue to be unsure.. if it fits within the words you use ... good luck ken ps: the blue color on most plants.. is an exterior wax coating... that reflects the blue sky ... over the years.. as the needles age.. the wax wears off.. and the older.. interior needles ... start greening ... all dependent on ambient weather .... so if you look deep into the plant in my pic.. the interior is greenish ....
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Dear Friends, finally I found this thread. I know yet why Bob asked me last summer about 'Edit' Since that time I joined to GW. The real name of the wife of Barabits is Edit. She is a hungarian lady, slowly at 90. She has also a hungarian christ name, is usual in this country. I know the same time, that her name has an english pure meaning, like editing a book. For foreigners this could cause problems. The cultivar belong to the few plants, which were introduced to the market, before I published the Barabits Life Monument in 1995. This is a prize holder in Holland, where it was named as Edith by HJ van de Laar in 1990. I was also thinking about, how to make the best, and finally decided. Let's have a name with "h" for international use, as of from the 1990 start to avoid misspellings in the world, meanwhile she is Edit for all, who knows her. I gave some new photos of this plant in the recent "Barabits Life Monument Gallery". It seemed me a little bit strange, that on the other end of the world this question could be important till the last days. Discovering the Jerry Morris conifer world we got a new "mother" file. Jerry has a Pinus ponderosa 'Margaret', which was named in any sources before Margarette, Marguerite, Margarite and any further possible variations, till Nate gave the news, this one is named to honour of the mother of Rich Eyre, who "Margaret" is. I think wives, mothers, daughters have always a nice role in the cultivar naming, as they often give their names to plants - by the breeders, who have loved younger or elder ladies in their life. Great idea is that, and very human. Thanks for the interest you all Zsolt
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Well, I'll say that right now my Hoopsi (yeah, probably from Oregon) is one color, all the way down the branches and to the trunk ... and the new growth was spectacular and quite a bit more significant than my same-sized baby blue eyes. So for me, the Hoopsi definately grows more per year, which makes sense considering how small the baby blue eyes gets according to most sources. Both had nice blue color, but the Hoopsi put on new growth of 4-7" and the baby blue eyes only 1-2" . Mine Hoopsi is also more of steel-blue and the Baby Blue Eyes a tad darker ... but still striking. Based on what Ken is saying, I'll be interested to see if my 'blue all the way through' Hoopsi stays this way ... after a winter in Z4/5 CO at 6500' . I consider it a 'real winter' and the harsh winds and cold temps are real here, maybe not as bad as the upper midwest. If mine fades, then I'll subscribe to Ken's theory on the Hoopsi's being from milder climates staying all blue. If it stays all blue, then I'll stay with what Dave is saying about "some" having a fully blue characteristic, which is what mine is currently is like. The pictures of Kens Hoopsi looks more like the Thompsen I have seen locally at Lowes, but of course, Kens was WAY nicer!!!
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Will, the original seedling was a flat growing one. All the ones which were grafted will make a leader some day. The flat growing habit will remain when propagated as a cutting. The last pic you're showing us was taken by Bob Fincham when he visited my nursery some years ago.
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the_yard_guy
9 years ago
I agree with Ken, that looks like a Juniperus virginiana. I have a nearly identical-looking specimen that was planted by a bird. It's about 2 years old and the needles and coloring look identical to the tree in your photo.

If you compare the needle size and shape to the Picea pungens "Fat Albert" you can tell the difference.

Hope that helps.

TYG
coachjohnsonlp
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks! You and ken are definitely right. Bummer!
wisconsitom
9 years ago
Birds up in the spruce tree pooping out juniper seeds?

+oM

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