Spring is here and we are looking forward to seeing our customers. Some of you have already ventured out! Our hoop houses are open and our sales yard is set up. The staff is ready to assist you with your tree selections. We always enjoy helping you find just the right trees.

 

Picea abies is a spruce that is native to Europe and is well-adapted to our midwest climate.  Its native distribution range extends across the northern latitudes of Europe, including Russia, and also into the higher elevations in Europe.   

 

This versatile tree will tolerate some shade, and  numerous cultivars have been selected for characteristics such as growth rate, color, and shape. There's a Norway spruce cultivar for any taste, including tall narrow forms ('Cupressina'), short squat ones ('Pumila'), diminutive forms ('Pusch'), and weepers ('Frohburg', 'Pendula', 'Weeping Blue').

 

Two contrasting forms

   

The elegant Picea abies 'Acrocona' has an irregular broad pyramidal shape and drooping branches. Stunning red-hued cones weigh down the branch tips in the spring.  A great accent tree for any garden! 

 

 

Picea abies 'Clanbrassiliana Stricta' forms a compact and tight upright pyramid, like a squat little Christmas tree. It grows about 3 feet every ten years, so it's perfect for a smaller garden. 

 

 

 

 

 

Conifers put on a spring show, sometimes rivaling the  blooming plants with their cones and new growth.  Two different cones appear on conifers.  Male cones bear pollen and female cones are fertilized by the pollen and turn into the seed bearing larger cones.  These young female cones are often striking shades of red, purple and blue, eventually maturing into typical brown cones.

 

Picea orientalis 'Aureaspicata'

Abies veitchii var. sikokiana