I saw an Alberta Spruce (Dwarf) today

10 years ago

Wow! Is it ever gorgeous! We were at Home Depot today getting 47 bags (sigh) of Pond Pebbles to put around our hardware cloth fencing to keep the voles out. $200 right down the drain.

Anyway, while Dh and DD were at the plumbing department looking at new kitchen sinks I stuck around the garden department and saw the most beautiful conifer. It was about 6ft tall, and not very wide. While I was looking at it some older man came up and looked like he wanted it too. The Home Depot guy said it was a Dwarf Alberta Spruce. He said it was the last one, but he said they sell lots of them in the Spring.

I think this is a must have for the yard. For being at Home Depot, I have to say the tree was in flawless condition. Because it was near it's mature height, is it still okay to buy it at that size? I've heard planting smaller sizes is best when dealing with trees....

This post was edited by ilovemytrees on Fri, Oct 4, 13 at 2:36

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Comments (8)

miclino
10 years ago
Jus an amateur here but I have already removed two of these from my yard. They are overused in my opinion and prone to spider mites if not in good conditions. Others could recommend alternatives.
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David Olszyk, President, American Conifer Society
10 years ago
I'd never buy a tree from a box store . . .

Please search out a local independant garden center and buy your tree there. Much, much better if you want a healthy tree and want to take care of your neighbors (your local economy).

I'll let the others tell you that Picea glauca 'Conica' really isn't all that great of a selection. On top of that, 6ft tall might be "mature" but trees don't stop growing upon maturing. I've seen 20ft tall specimens of this very cultivar. Look around our picture galleries and you'll find some really sweet trees here.

~Dave

This post was edited by Glaciers-End on Thu, Oct 3, 13 at 21:11
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how big is the plant? and why do you need to do it right now.. it is not the best time of year to do such.. but i understand sometimes the project requires such ... these are extremely cheap conifers .... sometimes its easier to be done with it.. and buy a new one.. rather than invest hour after hour of intense physical labor to move a cheap plant ... a pic would sure help ken
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AL! You found me!!! I'm so happy. Thanks very much for responding. Yes, I can absolutely be patient and 3 or 4 years will be more than fine with me if I have an end result even half as cool as your blue spruce. To the rest of you, I absolutely appreciate your input also. Being a beginner at all this,I am fully aware that I might not be able to achieve the results I want, just because another who happens to have a world of experience, did. But I'm willing to take the chance for several reasons. 1) the tree, while admired maybe by many, is expendable to me. If it doesn't work out, I can just remove it. 2) I have all the time in the world. We plan to raise the kids in this house. 3) most importantly-- Al's globe blue spruce is actually what led me to gardenweb in the first place! I joined last year bc of some plumbing issues but never even checked out any of the garden areas. Then a few weeks ago I was googling all kinds of conifer stuff and came across what I thought was the coolest little mini-tree ever, in one of the coolest gardens ever, and I tried emailing the dude who posted it all... and he actually emailed me back. Pretty exciting if you're me, which I am. Hehe. So if Al says I could give it a shot, then by golly I am going to give it a shot. I've got nothing to lose really except some time. But at worst I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two along the way-- like the best ways to not get needles in my arms, Ken : ) so even that couldn't be wasted. Ok so now Al, can you recommend a method to start this process? I'm more than happy to get a book if you have one you can recommend-- I don't want to burden you any more than I have to. I know in your email you mentioned taking the top off your spruce-- is that something I should do too or is it too late for that? I know I said she's expendable but I'd obvioulsy like to do whatever in my power to avoid that. Also on another note, isn't there a way that I can click on a members name and see all their posts? I can't seem to find a way to even see *my own* without going back into each forum and finding my post somewhere in the list. As I spend more time on here, that is going to get very difficult. And I'd really like to see more of what you've all written/posted, both for inspiration and to gather more info and even to just have fun looking at all the beautiful stuff. I'd love to see some of your hosta Ken, for example- I see it's your favorite forum. I love hostas but again, just a newbie. Thank you everyone and Al especially, for making my day : )
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tsk, tsk, tsk .... a conifer question over here ....geez ... you know.. i have only posted about a hundred pix over at the conifer forum .... i will refer you there if you dont like my suggestion here: Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone' .. its about 8 inches wide and 3 feet high.. spring yellow flush .. darkening a bit over the summer .... living in OR you have to be within about 100 miles of EVERY MASS PRODUCER OF CONIFERS IN THE US .... start visiting.. and find some great stuf... good luck ken
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I overwintered my 4ft dwarf alberta spruce on my 3rd story balcony (In a 16" diameter pot) and it came back just fine this spring. Now with this very hot weather I have noticed alot of browning and needles falling off. I have been watering things plenty (and not too much). I have had problems with spider mites on my roses which I have been taking care of by spraying them daily with water. The spruce is between two Annabelle hydrangea's that are close to the base of the tree (not completely covering it though). I'm just not sure what is the issue with the tree... if it is just not getting enough sunlight because of the hydrangeas... or if it is spider mites. Upon closer inspection I couldn't find any signs of spider mites. The tree sent out new growth this spring and the whole thing was freshly green and now some of the new growth is beginning to wilt, dry up, and eventually lose needles.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
they must have gotten a fall delivery of plants.. ????

i would never buy a conifer that size ... if its been at the hardware store since spring ... or ever actually.. i go for volume over instant gratification ....

IMHO ... the most overused... conifer in the world ...

as a tree.. there is no set final size... on campus back in the day.. they had 30 year old ones... at least 20 feet tall .....

in spring.. you should be able to buy two or 3 footers.. for $10 .. max ...

of course you should have one... why not.. but i would not pay more than the ten bucks ....

and finally ... unlike many conifers.. these flush twice ... the plain old one.. a dusty green over the mature green ...

there is a better one.. and this is the one you should get ... Picea glauca Rainbows End ... its flush is butter yellow over the mature green... TWICE a season ....

find a mail order source.. and get a babe ... its worth paying for the better one .. and no reason to go for the instant gratification ...

ken

ps: there is a small/mini called daisy white also ... a ... wait for it.. white flusher .. duh.. lol ... have a great day ...

Here is a link that might be useful: pics 5 and 7 show it flushing out ....
maple_grove_gw
10 years ago
Click on the link for a discussion of the ups and downs (well, mainly downs) of 'dwarf Alberta spruce', and some othe commonly found 'dwarf conifers'. It's probably the best explanation you'll find for why many do not favor this tree.

If you really like the look of Alberta spruce, there are named cultivars of Picea glauca that are similar in appearance and will be more reliable, better options. Depending on the desired growth rate, some options would be 'Jean's Dilly', 'Laurin' 'Zuckerhut', and there are many more. But most likely they won't be found at the local Home Depot.

Alex

Here is a link that might be useful: Dwarf conifer confusions

This post was edited by maple_grove on Sat, Oct 5, 13 at 14:59
Sequoiadendron4
10 years ago
I as well do not like the Dwarf Alberta Spruce. They are all over the place. When our neighborhood was developed, they must have been the number one landscape shrub on the developers list because every other house has one or more. I dug ours out because it got spider mites really bad and I replaced it with something that pulls it's weight in the garden....
Fiddlegal08
10 years ago
I just got rid of my 20-year-old AS. It was bare on the inside due to mites and also grew crooked trying to get out of the shadow of a cedar. If you're space-challenged as I am, you could choose a thousand others that would be more desirable!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
alex.. you forgot the link???

ken
maple_grove_gw
10 years ago
It disappeared when I edited the post. I just put it back.

Alex

I saw an Alberta Spruce (Dwarf) today

Comments (8)

miclino

David Olszyk, President, American Conifer Society

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