Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: State Arboretum of Virginia - Blandy Experimental Farm, 2 by ViburnumValley

ViburnumValley wrote:
Bing, bing, bing - bonus to Wee this morning.

Moving right along - to yet another behemoth conifer that favors central KY and Ohio River valley conditions, and is strutting its mature stuff here at the Blandy Farm.

Oriental Spruce (Picea orientalis) is another tree that I've had a long term love affair with - which has been extremely easy since she is quite the soft touch. This plant became the signature conifer for the first thoroughbred horse farm I worked for in the 1980s. Those plants now tower gracefully over this central KY landscape, and continue to get better with age.

Again, dark green lustrous shiny needles and a modest spread on a tall tree - this plant deserves a home anywhere someone wants a large needled evergreen but doesn't want to give up a lot of floor space. It will remind many of a more refined version of Norway Spruce, with which one might casually confuse it. Images below show some adjacency of old Oriental Spruce and Norway Spruce.