Picea pungens 'Royal Knight' vs 'Blue Diamond'

9 years ago

Went to the local nursery and found Picea pungens 'Blue Diamond' and Picea pungens 'Royal Knight'. From what I've read 'Royal Knight' shapes itself unlike 'Hoopsi' and is more grey blue. I've read that it grows fast for a spruce but there are some posts that contradict that. 'Blue Diamond' comes from Europe and descriptions indicate it's not as large. Can anyone share their experience with Royal Knight or Blue Diamond particularly comparisons to Hoopsi?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
From what I've read 'Royal Knight' shapes itself unlike 'Hoopsi' and is more grey blue.

==>>>

my RK is in full dark shade... it has been rather ball shaped..forever...

i would not say it grows with vigor in dark shade .. but it hasnt died in 12 years ...

in the shade it is the greyer blue as you note ...

i dont understand your hoopsi comment.. both of mine have grown in perfect xmas tree shape forever ...

no info from me on BD ... but do note.. that if it is European ... i am surprised it has an English name ..

do you mail order??? ... if not.. why not ...

ken
kathy_il
Original Author
9 years ago
Mail order? Where we're located, it's the only way to get what we want. The 'Royal Knight' and 'Blue Diamond' question was one not from a 'buying' but from a 'want to know' perspective. There are so many blue Picea pungens that it's difficult to distinguish between them and I'm obsessed enough to want to do so. My Hoopsi has never needed to be shaped either, but from online descriptions I thought perhaps the shaping was done before the 4' we got it at.
Related Discussions
Dwarf conifers in part/full shade
Q
Comments (17)
8 hours is considered FULL sun ... whether or not there is shade some part of the day .... learned that in my rose growing days .... the issue then becomes... the intensity of the sun ... dawn and dusk full sun is not equivalent to noon sun ... so 4 hours at dawn.. and 4 hours at dusk.. might be a problem for SOME plants ... which require intense levels of light ... i realize you may know most of this... but i use it to refresh my memory .. and to entertain any newbies who are lurking.. and i know you are out there ... we could then add FILTERED light to complicate the whole mess ... lol ... but technically.. that brings us back to intensity ... in the olden days .... 5 years ago .. lol .. you actually had pix peeps who carried photo meters to measure the light intensity ... except for the true photo expert.. that is probably a thing of the past with digital this and that .... with said tool ... you could probably actually define the light level in your SHADE .... and then try to find research indicating how many units of what level of light.. is satisfactory for your plants.. the greenhouse peeps probably have some of this science worked out ... this would be why there are shade clothes that vary from 25 to 60% shade ... depending what you are growing in the man made shade ... ken PS: all of which leaves will standing there scratching his head.. really no further ahead than he was prior to posting... thinking.. aw heck.. i am just going to plant the thing here.. and worry about it in a few years ... lol
...See More
Scanned 35mm Photos (37)
Q
Comments (10)
The Sawara labeled 'Lutea' in the above picture appears to be a filifera form, perhaps casting some doubt on the identification. "P. mariana 'Wellspire' Introduced --A.L. Jacobson, North American Landscape Trees (1996, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley) Under the previous entry, P. mariana 'Fastigiata', Jacobson notes that trees sold in the 1980s under that name were a P. abies cultivar like 'Cupressina'. I have observed myself that stock coming from Wells in recent years as upright P. mariana forms have been the same as other plants labeled P. abies 'Cupressina' elsewhere.
...See More
Conifer id help
Q
Comments (12)
I tried to copy and paste from my excel form but as I have Genus, Species, and Cultivar in different columns, but it didn't paste very well. I was thinking of a berm on the south side (neighbour). Below are some photos of the corner, I have planted Picea pungens glauca 'Royal Knight' in the corner so far, but I struggled between that one and Pinus nigra due to the latter's density and size. As you can see in the photos, there are a couple of stumps that we have to deal with. The large one was a dead maple tree but we do not know how long ago it died, and the other was a nasty Buckthorn. To begin the project, after we cleared the area, we rebuilt the century old cedar post and split rail fence and put back the old wire fence against it. The stone wall doesn't extend all of the way to the fence as can be seen in the photo below. View from my porch. garage on the left and barn on the right. I took the pic as a truck happened to be driving by; across the street, the neighbour's vehicles in his driveway are also visible. Closer, planted 'Royal Knight' can be seen. Looking along the south side from the corner (new neighbours soon). Looking along the east wall Please excuse the mess as this is a work in progress. In the area, there is also a 20' diameter garden (existing) and in the centre I planted Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Pendula'.
...See More
spring post spring post spring post
Q
Comments (55)
Not great lighting for pics, but a couple spruces are doing their thing: Picea pungens 'Procumbens' It used to be very stiffly horizontal, but the left side started upturning last year or so. Usually even more intense blue. Picea abies 'Pendula' Picea glauca 'Rainbow's End' Picea pungens 'Thume'
...See More
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
being an 'anything blue for the garden freak' ...... it took me a decade to stop fixating on buying more blue spruces ...

in your other post.. i listed a multitude of blue plants.. beyond picea pungens ... and your response.. lol.. was to start a new post on more picea pungens...

oh how you are living my past life... lol ... and i hope you had as much fun as i did ....

ken
kathy_il
Original Author
9 years ago
Nah, my response then was to place an order with Coenosium for a Picea englemannii .... oh, and a Picea pungens 'Aubie's Spreader'...lol.
sc77 (6b MA)
9 years ago
If you want blue like Hoopsi (maybe bluer), but with consistant , predictable shape go for Picea pungens 'Edith'... If you search in the US, Porterhowse & Coenosium are the only two I know of that sell it. But they list it as 'Edit', rather than 'Edith'. This cultivar has a history of debate about the correct name. It was concluded it should be 'Edith', but Bob, Don, and even Conifer Kingdom all still list it as 'Edit'
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
i have hoopsi ... thomsen .. and a 3rd version.. of which i am blanking on ... ah..otto von Bismarck

and i have seen edit at Gee Tree ..

frankly.. i cant tell them apart.. and i doubt most of us could.. growing right next to each other ...

and that is where 'name collecting' become a problem ... and trust me on that.. lol.. from a guy who bought 1500 different named hosta.. before he realize.. he was collecting names.. rather than unique plants .... what a maroon ... as bugs once said ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: and i am speaking of myself ...
kathy_il
Original Author
9 years ago
We got Edith three years ago. This year it's put out some lateral growth. Very nice silver blue. It'll be interesting to see how it develops.

Ken, every time I wear my Bugs shirt that video is going to come to mind. Yikes!
mmajicmann
9 years ago
hoopsii, royal knight....baby blue eyes in back :)
mmajicmann
9 years ago
another view
kathy_il
Original Author
9 years ago
Mmagicmann, what great trees! Looking at the three it appears that Royal Knight is denser than the other two or is it older? Is Hoopsi a brighter blue or does the interior density of RK take away from the brightness of the blue? Do you have a personal preference? Thanks for the pictures :-)
mmajicmann
9 years ago
thnx kathy.... RK approx 12', is about 5 years older... its new growth a little less this year shows more interior darkness than other years... the Hoopsii 7', is likely to be less wide and its blue is more vivid....especially in overcast or foggy light....'must have' blue conifer! hoping my blues are in a dry enough site to do well in new hampshire.

Picea pungens 'Royal Knight' vs 'Blue Diamond'

Comments (11)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

kathy_il
Original Author

Related Discussions

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

kathy_il
Original Author

sc77 (6b MA)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

kathy_il
Original Author

mmajicmann

mmajicmann

kathy_il
Original Author

mmajicmann

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Picea pungens 'Royal Knight' vs 'Blue Diamond'

Comments (11)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

kathy_ilOriginal Author

Related Discussions

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

kathy_ilOriginal Author

sc77 (6b MA)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

kathy_ilOriginal Author

mmajicmann

mmajicmann

kathy_ilOriginal Author

mmajicmann

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

kathy_il
Original Author

kathy_il
Original Author

kathy_il
Original Author

kathy_il
Original Author