Did the tree have weeping branchlets? Weeping a lot? I am not sure I can remember all the spruces I have seen and the bark color, so maybe this is not a positive ID for NS, but reddish, and very finely flaking reddish bark is typical of some NS trees at the age yours was, and is usually--maybe almost always--paired with a weeping habit. As for the foliage, there is a range of color variation in NS that I would not call exactly blue, but which one time caused a forester up here to confuse the more whitish colored NS with white spruce. Ah, the trees we have seen and "lost," or at least can't get back to see very easily. I remember one very remarkable NS tree I saw a few years ago--before I became interested in special cultivars. You won't believe this NS tree. It was in the back yard of a rural home where there was a country auction. The tree was very, very broadly pyramidal, and here is the amazing partthe side branches were very, very large and extended very much parallel to the ground with no sweep. This tree was probably about 28 inches in diameter, and the lower limbs that stretched out so amazingly horizontal were really, really thick and longthey must have been 8 inches, maybe one to two 10 inches in diameter. And they stretched outward for what must have been 20 feet or more. Can you picture this? It is hard, I know. I never saw anything like it before or since--nothing like it in a NS or any other tree, for that matter. Now where is this tree? I wish I knew. It was somewhere on a small back road north of US Route 40 where it crosses the line from MD into PA. Now that seems precise enough, but I could drive all those rural roads for a week and maybe not get back to that spot. Well, there are other special NS trees I have seen and think should be graftedmaybe I will find some excuse later to describe a couple more. --Spruce P.S. I am at my timberland now and spent the day thinning in my NS groves. Im back!! I havent felt so strong in a long time. I thought of you and your new NS groves. One day they will tower like minemaybe even more so. My spirit played and danced in the tops of these towering trees today, gliding among the high curtains of wonderful green weeping foliage!!

trees/conifers need nothing after transplant... other than a period of watering to aid establishment ... mulch will reduce evaporation to help in PROPER watering .. the ONLY exception is if you are in the tree industry .. and repeatedly cycle plants through the same soil .. and need to have soil test and amendments to insure your investment ... remove all competing weeds. ... and add some mulch to keep the weeds out.. and they will be just peachy ... start with a soil test IF you suspect something is lacking in your soil .... as the tree matures ... it doesn't even need the mulch .... EXCEPT to keep you away from it with the lawnmower and the weedwhip .... try a walk in a forest .... and study how nature takes care of itself .... i suggest you are overthinking it all ... forests are self-mulching ... good luck to you, and your trees/conifers ... ken

hey.. slummin in the conifer forum??? let me tell you something.. that is NOT a BLUE spruce.. and it never will be ... get rid of it... hit the link ... get a REAL BLUE spruce .... and protect it from the devil vermin of PA .... call them.. and see if they have any problem with doing it today ... you will have it by friday .. 3 stakes .... and fishing line.. will work ... mess with their heads.. literally ... lol ... if there is some emotional connection to this one... do whatever you want with it.. in a year or two.. it will re-establish a leader.. there never really is any hurry with conifers.. if you can keep the devil from coming back ... and how about killing the grass and adding a 2 foot mulch circle .... see you in hosta world.. ken PS: and may as well throw in a variegated liquidamber [gotta have one.. just to able able to say the name] .... not a great tree to garden under.. but simply stunning ... justify it as an early xmas present hoopsi Here is a link that might be useful: girards

Thanks! Wow! So this "hunchback" is its natural look? I can't believe the builder would choose this for the most visible part of the landscaping. ==>>> you're missing the whole point ... the landscaper paid a couple hundred dollars more.. to put a stunning specimen in front of this house ... it is not a natural look .... it has been trained to be a stunning specimen .... see link ... if it had not been trained to height.. it would have basically grown on the ground .... regardless ... his siting next to the walkway was a bit wonky .... ===== USDA zone is 3, so mine is probably a different weeping spruce as I live in zone 7 ==>> zone is min winter temp that a plant will tolerate.. i think you are reading it backwards .... though a lot of plants do have zone maximums .... ken https://www.google.com/search?q=picea+pungens+pendula&biw=909&bih=745&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCiL7qnqXOAhXTdSYKHWn2AjIQ_AUIBigB&dpr=0.9