Hey!
I'm looking for a blue spruce that is dwarf (maybe semi-dwarf) that would top out at 8' or so for my perennial border. Weeping would be cool too. My local nursery has one, but says it only grows 6" a year and their specimens are 18" now! I picture something maybe 3-4 feet to start with....maybe I could mail order something.
Thanks,
Miles
Dwarf Blue Spruce recommendations
Hi Miles,
Try Rarefind or Bloom River.
http://www.bloomriver.com/home/br2/smartlist_7/conifers.html
Thanks Victor, you're the man as usual! My Cornus Kousa Satomi is doing great...I'll send pics when it gets some leaves. Probably grew a foot or so since the fall.
Miles
Great - Satomi is an all-star. Glad to help!
Musser Forests and Girard are also good sources of small evergreen shrubs.
And Greers.
miles look for a Montgomery Blue Spruce - they are also small and grow about 8 ft tall at maturity - it will be hard to find one 3'-4' mail order which you probably know. i would suggest checking out a few more garden centers.
HD here seems to have several different blue spruce and i may be getting another - these "can" grow to 20 ft or more - however trees can be pruned to be kept to size - i have a Frasier fur that i have kept at about 7' high that was 4' and i've kept at 7'
i just bought a blue spruce from hd that is about 3' and was $59 called baby blue - i just planted a koto-no-ito jm in front of a rody and really want something darker for a back drop so the rody may need to go.
Rhody is not dark enough, Bill??
it might be - got really bad wind burn damage to many rody's this year so i'm looking at a lot of dead leaves and it is very leggy in general. i will first try a massive trim of the rody and if that does not work i will replace it - a blue background might be better and add more contrast to the side of the hill so it would mean three spruce
Not too sure about blue spruce as a background for Koto. I think darker is better.
another Frazier fur then or even rose glow barberry of which i have two planted out back waiting for homes.
Yes - both would be nice. Or a Physo Summer Wine or Coppertina.
Bill, thanks for the suggestion. I'll check for that on mail order sites.
I was in HD yesterday and saw the 'Baby Blue' and thought it might be perfect, only 'Baby Blue Eyes' shows up on DG in plantfiles. I did some digging and apparently they are totally different. The one at HD grows full size.
If you prune you're conifer back to keep it small, does it still get really wide?
Miles
depends on how you prune it:)
I plan to keep mine is the same "shape" as purchased only let it grow 7' ft or so. They had another called fat albert that as the name suggests likes to be a little wider - by trimming in late winter/early spring you can keep them any size/shape you like.
Hey, I ended up going back to the local garden center and getting two of the semi-dwarf weeping blue spruce...they had some bigger ones...about 2' and for $55/each with no shipping I could not go wrong...here are some pics that could have been closer ;-)
Miles
Here is the 2nd one in the other new bed we put in last fall.
nice find miles - i have a green weeping spruce and would love a dwarf blue!!
Green has some great Montgomery's and good size I got one 3-4 ft and it is beautiful and loves N.H.
Greer not green,sorry.
I saw some nice dwarf spruces that were green with cool shape today, I might get one and put it in a pot. The last dwarf alberta I planted lost all it's leaves on the back. Not sure if it was lack of water in the pot or spider mites?
M.