P. pungens 'Edith' comes to mind, but that's just a guess ... T.

Hi Garen

For comparison, here are some pics of Hoopsi foliage I found online...

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This post was edited by maple_grove on Thu, Jan 17, 13 at 21:21

Garen,

I really like the spruce, but I can't help you with the ID.

If you are wanting to graft this winter, I would suggest ordering Picea glauca in a plant band from Itasca Greenhouse (only spruce that they have in stock in PB this winter). They don't have a minimum order and since you are in the midwest, the shipping differential will probably be substantial compared to a westcoast grower.

Keith

Here is a link that might be useful: Itasca Greenhouse availability

Cool spruce, Garen! It's for sure not 'Hoopsii' as that is much faster growing and "looser" than this one, and it doesn't have the same look as "Edit'.

Why would a municipality plant a regular generic Picea pungens on one side of the building and a named cultivar on the other side? It doesn't make sense. What does make sense is that the one with long needles is a seedling P. pungens purchased at the same time as the other seedling P. pungens and you have found yourself a new cultivar, Garen. Nice find!

Matt

That's a good point. I have a 'Hoopsii' at my parents' house, and my first response on seeing the foliage close-up, was that it's a dead ringer. But after a better look at the whole plant I'd say you're right Matt, it is much denser than 'Hoopsii'. And the nice thing about that is, that you don't see last year's green foliage. Nice find!

Alex

'Edith' usually displays a strong central leader. This one is absent of that growth habit.

Foliage is fairly soft and needles about 1 inch in length.

I have a small one complements of Dax.

I'll give it a closer look tomorrow for comparison. I am thinking the foliage in the photo is a dead ringer with regard to the one I am growing.

More tomorrow.

Dave

of the hundreds of pix i have of my hoopsii ... [more than one] ...

i never thought to take a needle pic w/scale ... hmmm ...

i feel like i let you down.. lol ..

in the third pic.. i wonder if it has been sheared ... as to shape ... note the ladder height.. where all of a sudden it has longer branches ...

who knows..

ken

Matt, now you got my hopes up. I had the same thoughts that it was kind of strange that they had one ordinary P. pungens planted on the left side of the front of the building and then this really nice one planted on the right side. They aren't planted in symmetrical positions though, and the ordinary one must be younger because it's not as tall. Hmm.. not sure what to think. I hope it's a cool new seedling or Edith. Either way is a win. Not sure how a Utilities building in the tiny quaint town of Rising Sun Indiana would have got their hands on Edith or a Hoopsii. The Main street is only 2 blocks long lol. Well then again, the funeral home does have a pretty cool P. omorika 'Pendula Bruns'.

Keith, thanks for the root stock link. I'll ask permission to take some scions and try my hand at making some amateur grafts. I'll see if I can find some good grafting info online. Will grafting to P. glauca be good or would it be better to graft on to P. pungens? What spruce root stock is the best for being tough?

When I was taking pictures of the tree a lady that worked there popped her head around the corner of the building and asked, "What's so special about that tree?" I told her it's a great looking tree, the foliage is dense and the needles are longer than your typical blue spruce. She told me that another guy had been examining the tree too and that he had his hands up in it, so when she saw me she had to ask. I'm sure she went back to work thinking, "what's with these crazy tree people?"

The branching looks too clumping and fat to be Hoopsii to me even though I would like to graft that too. I'm not familiar with the growth habit of Edith except that it's on my wish list. Measure those needles and let me know what you think Dave. =)

I've passed this tree on my way to work for quite a few years now. It's always caught my eye but I never really started thinking about it until the conifer bug started completely taking over my brain. I don't think it's been sheared. I think I would have noticed that someone hacked it over the years and I think they would have sheared the other one too but i could be wrong. Ken you always have a good sleuthing eye.

I guess I'll wait and see what the general consensus is.

I don't suppose it's worth getting inside just in case a tag might be present ?

I'll check it out. Maybe that's what the other guy was doing. I'll also take a look inside to see if I can find any signs of shearing.

That is one gorgeous blue spruce! The long, bright blue needles and dense, compact growth really make this one stand out. I agree - far too compact growing to be 'Hoopsii', especially with those extra long needles. Could just be a chance seedling - which would be a great find indeed! Better graft a few for continued study.

Garen,

The roots of pungens probably better than p. abies but p. abies most often used. I use p. abies, but if you are wanting to graft a few this year i think p. glauca would work fine and give you good practice. I mainly suggested it because it is available and will be of sufficient caliper to handle the scion from the terminals on the mother plant. We can talk you through grafting if you decide to go ahead

Keith

Garen, Did you ever succeed in grafting this tree?

Not 'Hoopsii' or 'Edith'. I don't know what it is. Why not talk to the owner and see if he will sell it to you. If yes have it spade dug and take it home. Then you can sell scions from it the rest of your life.

I only grafted 2 that year and neither took due to my poor grafting skills and lack of knowledge then. I was also in a hurry and I admit I didn't take proper care. I'll have to try my hand again.

I recently sent off quite a few scions from it to a fellow gardenweber. Hopefully some will take. I asked if he could send me one in return if they do.

The tree is sited at a city building and they let me freely take however many scions I want. The tree is over 20' tall so there's no digging that behemoth up =). The people at the building say that it's just a regular blue spruce that was planted with the rest of the blue spruces surrounding the building, so I'm pretty sure it's just a cool looking seedling.

I ended up naming it 'Nausicaa' after a Miyazaki movie. It reminds me of a big blue billowy cloud. If anyone wants scions just let me know. I'll take an updated photo once the new growth has pushed.

Super cool looking tree! I like the (what appears to be) lighter color as well.

"This tree is located in front of a Municipal Utilities building just down the street from where I work."

Maybe its an ordinary picea pungens. That would be my guess. Start thinking of names. :)

You could ask around about the tree, see when it was planted and how big it was when planted, then calculate growth rate. That could help. If it has high growth rate it could be an ordinary picea pungens. That would be sweet bc that is one cool looking tree.

Lol I am just seeing your post now for the first time.

Or you could just ask if they knew what it was. LOL

It's an amazing combination of a globose form that is also tall without spreading at the base. If that isn't sheared then you have a real prize.

Spade digging a 20 ft. tree is nothing and easily done.

lol Dave, I've seen the things you move. You're like the hulk with an extra large green thumb.

I ran it by Bob Fincham in an email a while back and he agreed that it looked to be a unique seedling and not a known cultivar. I've had my eye on it and have passed by it just about every day for the past 15 years. I'm positively sure that it was never sheared. It's a nice prize indeed. It looks to be an intermediate grower and is always a nice dense bright blue.

Thanks for taking a look. =)

Garen,

Really great find! What would you say is the annual growth rate of the tree? What I like about it is that even though it is a slower-growing specimen there is still enough irregularity in the growth/branching that it has a very distinct look when compared to other smaller p.p.g. like 'Sester's', 'Montgomery', 'Zafiro', etc... Hope you can find someone to propagate it!

Bruce