Gardens benefit year round from winter addition of spruce
I am cone crazy when it comes to plants, meaning I love conifers (cone-bearing plants, of which most are evergreen). They are such important plants in the garden, providing year-round color, particularly during winter when most other plants are defoliated and dormant. In my opinion, every garden needs a couple of conifers since they provide the bones of the garden around which all other plants rotate.
The world of conifers is huge with lots of genus, species and wonderful cultivars from which to choose. One genus I'm particularly fond of is Picea, commonly known as spruce. The genus includes about 35 species with nine being popular for use in landscapes and gardens because of their ornamental appeal. These species all thrive in full sun to partial shade with a well-drained soil.
Our region of the Southeast is about as far south as you can grow spruce in that they prefer cooler nighttime temperatures than what most Southern states can provide.
Depending on size and form, spruce has a variety of uses in the landscape. Tall, pyramidal forms make great background plants useful in screens, foundation plantings and specimen or accent plants. Dwarf forms can be great in rock gardens, the foreground of a border, woody groundcovers, foundation plantings or as a specimen or accent plant.
The winter is a perfect time to plant trees and shrubs as long as the ground is not frozen. Why not visit your favorite garden center this season to see what spruces you can acquire for your landscape? You'll be ahead of spring gardening activities and will enjoy these conifers for years to come.
Following is my recommended list of spruce favorites. I have all of these selections in my own home garden as well as planted throughout the UT Gardens located off Neyland Drive.
Norway spruce (Picea abies)
Rich, dark green needles with a classic pyramidal form make Norway spruce a popular evergreen. Typically grows to 60 feet tall by 30 feet wide. In excess of 150 cultivars (mostly dwarf) have been named over the years. Some of my very favorite cultivars include:
'Pendula' is an unusual weeping cultivar with an irregularly shaped form which will vary considerably depending upon its early training. If staked when young, 'Pendula' can grow 10 feet tall by 15 feet wide. If not staked, it will mostly spread along the ground as a woody ground cover. I love this unique selection that makes a great focal point if located in a spot where its form can be best utilized. Very striking if up-lighted at nighttime. 'Gold Drift' is a similar selection with bright yellow-gold new growth.
'Acrocona' is a dwarf cultivar that is noted for producing showy immature mauve-red cones at the branch ends in spring. Typically grows as a broad upright-spreading shrub up to 5-10 feet tall in 10 years. Selective pruning can keep growth in check if desired.
'Nidiformis' is a dwarf cultivar that grows to only 1-2 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide over the first 10 years, eventually maturing to as much as 8 feet tall and 10-12 feet wide over 30 years. It features spreading, horizontal to slightly ascending branches which form a dense, broad-rounded, shrubby, flattened globe. Mature plants have a depression or "nest" in the center of the flattened top, hence the common name of bird's-nest spruce.
'Formanek' is a weeping and spreading cultivar whose branches, if staked, weep downward. If unstaked, the branches will spread along the ground forming a woody groundcover. Over the first 10 years, prostrate forms typically grow 6-12 inches tall but spread to 3-6 feet wide.
'Wingle's Weeping' is a low weeping form which can be staked for some height. Makes a perfect dense groundcover unless staked to form a small weeping tree. Unless staked, 1 foot tall by 3 feet wide in 10 years.
Colorado or blue spruce (Picea pungens)
Prized for its steely-blue foliage, this colorful spruce adds interest to the landscape in any season. It can grow 30-60 feet tall by 20 feet wide with a pyramidal form. My favorite selections include:
'Baby Blueyes' is a dwarf pyramidal selection which grows just 10-15 feet tall by 5-10 feet wide.
'Fat Albert' is also a dwarf pyramidal form which grows 10-15 feet tall by 7-10 feet wide.
'Montgomery' has a pyramidal form and grows to 8 feet tall by 3 feet wide.
'Sester Dwarf' has a pyramidal form and grows 6 feet tall by 4 feet wide.
'Globosa Nana' is a dwarf, globe-shaped cultivar which grows 3 feet tall and 4-6 feet wide.
'Glauca Prostrata' is a horizontal form that grows to 1-2 feet tall and 6-10 feet wide, making a beautiful blue woody groundcover.
'Pendula' is a dwarf weeping form that can be grown in a variety of different ways. If staked, the branches will weep downward. If unstaked, the branches will sprawl along the ground. Staked forms are often grown to 6 feet tall. Unstaked forms typically rise to 1-2 feet tall but trail along the ground to 8-10 feet or more.
'The Blues' is a choice steely-blue selection with the same growth habit and size as 'Pendula'. Spectacular when up-lighted at night.
Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis)
A medium to large spruce with a narrow pyramidal form which typically grows to 50-70 feet tall. Compared to Norway and Colorado spruce, it has a densely-branched and compact form. My choice selections include:
'Skylands' is a bright yellow cultivar with a pyramidal form that typically grows 8-10 feet tall over the first 10 years. Over time, it may reach 35 feet tall with a spread of 10-12 feet wide. In our region, morning sun and afternoon dappled shade is ideal to prevent new, yellow foliage from becoming sunburnt.
'Bergman's Gem' has a small vase-shaped form that matures over time to a flat globular form. It grows to 2-3 feet tall and as wide.
'Compacta' is a dwarf pyramidal form that typically grows 3-6 feet tall by 2-5 feet wide.
Serbian spruce (Picea omorika)
Typically grows to 50-60 feet tall x 15-20 feet wide. This is a narrow, pyramidal, spire-like tree with pendant branches that ascend at the tips. Cones emerge a beautiful violet purple and mature to yellowish brown.
'Nana' is a densely-branched dwarf with a broad conical form. Typically grows 4-8 feet tall and just as wide. Short, dense, glossy, dark green needles have white bands underneath, lending a silvery, bicolored effect.
'Pendula' is a dramatic slender spire with slightly twisted, pendulous branches, and two-tone foliage of green and sliver. Slow growing up to 6 feet tall x 3-4 feet wide in 10 years.
'Bruns Weeping' makes a dramatic exclamation point for any sunny garden. Well suited to narrow spaces and smaller landscapes since it only grows 20 feet tall x 2 feet wide. Slow growing — only 6 to 10 inches per year.
Did you know?
The genus name of spruce is derived from the Latin word pix, meaning pitch, in reference to the sticky resin typically found in spruce bark. When the tree is tapped, the pitch makes excellent turpentine good for a variety of uses.
Spruce is also edible and used medicinally. Before the days of sweet flavored chewing gum, country boys gathered their gum from spruce trees. City kids could buy this old-fashioned gum in drugstores, at candy counters and general stores at a penny a lump. Spruce gum is tangy, purple hued and long lasting. It's also used in incense, perfume, medicinal salves and even adhesives.
Young shoots of spruce are high in vitamin C and can be brewed into a tea. Spruce beer was common in the Colonial United States, and you can still buy a spruce beer soft drink. In fact, according to wikipedia, the explorer Captain Cook would have both malt and sugar-based spruce beer made during his sea voyages in order to prevent scurvy in his crew.
Medicinally, spruce has been used for the treatment of respiratory diseases including tuberculosis, and the leaves and gum of the tree have been used in the treatment of cancer.
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