Resin: Yes, I thought the larger coned spruce might be from a southeastern European origin. What brought this to mind now is I just ordered 50 seedlings from the Virginia State nursery that I am pretty sure are from a Romanian seed source. I am sorry--I am at my Virginia place now, and the cones are up at my timberland place, so I can't measure now. But they are very long--I am guessing, but I am almost sure they would be longer than 16 cm, and maybe longer than 18 cm. When I get back up there--I hope in a week or so, I will measure and get back to you. Actually, the longest cones I have found are from a tree--just one tree--on my own timberland. But these very long cones don't look like the ones from the stand at Glady in other respects. Oh, another characteristic of the cones I forgot to mention before is that the ends of the scales have a tendency to curve outward, something I don't usually see, or see so prominently, in cones from other sources. Another question/issue that interests me: I notice that trees in some plantations have more diversity than others. In some stands most of the trees are reasonably similar to each other. There is always some diversity in a variety of characteristics. But in some other stands the trees often are very, very different from each other in their appearance. Probably the most notable example of this that I know is one of the stands on my own timberland, where I almost never see two trees growing next to each other that look very much alike at all. And there are more than just two or three "types" of variation--the differences in growth and appearance are "all over the place" so to speak. I think this is wonderful, but I also wonder if that tendency towards so much diversity can be an indicator of seed source. Are there some areas of Europe where the Norway spruce trees show more diversity than others? Of course, one possibility is that my stand came from more than one seed source, but from what I know about how nurseries grow seedlings and and seed companies collect and sell seed, that seems unlikely. Of course one part of a plantation could be from one source, and another part from another source, but in my stand, the diversity is really all mixed together--there is no one part where trees have more of any one characteristic than another. --Spruce

You're right on the money and it's believable that a lot of these strains actually maintain similar shape, color, etc, and of course a higher percentage of blue seedlings. "That's why they are selected." There's an Abies balsamea called 'Cooks Blue Improved' which I was told is not the correct name, but that's how Schumaker's Seed sells it. It might be, "Cooks Improved Blue'... I've never heard of your Spruce strain or any other. But, certainly self-pollinating trees that offer great character, with others of great character will give you special seeds. --Dax

A neat tree gomanson. Interestingly your department of forestry does not seem to have them for sale. http://www.forestfarm.com/products.php?params=plantNameGenus:Pseudotsuga I dig forest farm. Order from them every six months it seems lol. Do you need three or four trees or a few dozen? I would think if you are just looking for a bunch of regular non-cultivar specific trees there may be a cheaper source. Some cultivars of Fagus (beech) or Picea (Spruce) require more shade due to dainty pink or yellow foliage. Agreed, for the thickest foliage you need full sun. I have found trees to tolerate more shade tolerance especially when young. Makes them grow more narrow than one planted plum in the middle of your yard. At some point shade will be something the trees "tolerate" and then something that stresses them. By 7-8 Shade tolerance do you mean the tree is in the sun only two or three hours a day? What does your planting area look like?

Just curious if you ever found your source? I lived in DC where at the Bicentennial, Japan gave DC a bunch of Ginko trees. They're planted on Corcoran Street, N.W. Now, I can't say they were planted anywhere else, but maybe. Unfortunately they were all female. OMG. The stench in the summer. OMG. Did I mention the goo on the sidewalks? The tracking it all over the place!? I'd love to see pics of your hedge. It sounds really lovely. I just can't imagine if it were female....!