Picea abies (L.) Karsten

Across much of its range Picea abies must contend with long, cold winters. This stand of very narrow trees grows on Trysilfjellet in eastern Norway. January 2022. Image Tom Christian.

Picea abies is the dominant tree in most of the highest forests in the European Alps, as here near Combloux, Haute-Savoie, SE France. 30 January 2023. Image Tom Christian.

Picea abies is the dominant conifer in these mixed forests at c. 1500 m asl in northern Albania that also comprise Fagus sylvatica and Abies alba. Valbonë National Park, northern Albania. 4 June 2023. Image Tom Christian.

Picea abies has been cultivated in Britain for so long it has earned the rank of honorary native, often being incorporated into mixed plantings. Scenes like this one, with old Norway Spruce scattered through deciduous woods, are repeated the length and breadth of the country. Strathtay, Perthshire, April 2023. Image Tom Christian.

Picea abies toward its south-eastern limit, at high altitude in northern Greece. April 2014. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Picea abies seed cones, almost fully ripe and ready to open. Old pollen cones are visible in the background, top left. Perthshire, UK, July 2022. Image Tom Christian.

A particularly narrow, densely-branched Picea abies growing on the Novar Estate in the Scottish Highlands. 14 September 2022. Image Tom Christian.

Some of the tallest Picea abies in Britain, to 47 m in 2013, grow quietly in Reelig Glen in the Scottish Highlands. Most visitors pass them unawares, drawn instead by 'Dughall Mor', a Pseudotsuga menziesii that was at one time the tallest tree in Britain; in 2022 it measured over 66 m. 15 September 2022. Image Tom Christian.

An unusually dense and shapely Picea abies 28 m tall in the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK; August 2021. Image Owen Johnson.

In some areas Picea abies remains a popular subject for shaping and for hedges. Uppsala University Botanic Garden, Sweden. 11 July 2021. Image Tom Christian.

Picea abies in a tiny space behind the Duomo of Carrera, Italy (September 2025). Perhaps a planted Christmas tree? Image John Grimshaw.

Foliage on Picea abies at Arboretum Kalmthout, Belgium (22 March 2007). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Seed cones on Picea abies (Arboretum Kalmthout, Belgium – 22 March 2007). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Foliage on ultimate branchlet below and above on Picea abies at Arboretum Bokrijk, Belgium (3 January 2005). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Buds and flattened needles with stomatal lines on Picea abies (Arboretum Bokrijk, Belgium – 3 January 2005). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

'Aarburg'

An unusual looking plant, bushy in youth, but reaching 4–5 m tall after ten years. The first order branches are outspreading or pendulous, and the leaves rather short (8–15 mm). It was introduced in 1965 by R. Haller, Switzerland (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Aarburg' at Pinetum Ickx, Belgium, April 2010. This example probably lost its leader early on, or was not staked after planting. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

'Abishenski Pendula'

A selection listed by Porterhowse Farms, Oregon in 2009 with long, erratic branches that spread initially and then become weeping (Auders & Spicer 2012). The partly Latinate cultivar name may be invalid unless published before 1959.

'Acrocona'

Discovered in native forest near Uppsala, Sweden, before 1890, ‘Acrocona’ is a slow-growing plant that eventually forms a small, pyramidal tree several metres tall. The first order branches spread horizontally at first, becoming downswept to nearly pendulous with age, but the key distinction are the cones, borne terminally on the majority of branchlets, bright red at first and often contorted (Auders & Spicer 2012). Because it is propagated by grafting plants bear cones from a young age. A ‘monstrosity’ according to Bean (Bean 1976).

A well-endowed branch of Picea abies 'Acrocona' (Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, August 2022). Image John Grimshaw.

Picea abies 'Acrocona' forming a rather gangly small tree (Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, August 2022). Image John Grimshaw.

Discovered in native forest near Uppsala, Sweden, before 1890, Picea abies 'Acrocona' is a slow-growing plant that eventually forms a small, pyramidal tree several metres tall. Von Gimborn Arboretum, The Netherlands. 12 September 2015. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Fresh new growth of Picea abies 'Acrocona', a conifer particularly suitable for small gardens with its moderate size. Meise Botanic Garden (Acc number 19780374), near Brussels, Belgium. 29 April 2012. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

The key distinction of Picea abies 'Acrocona' are the cones, borne terminally on the majority of branchlets, bright red at first and often contorted. Meise Botanic Garden (Acc number 19780374), near Brussels, Belgium. 29 April 2012. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Close-up on the brown mature cone of Picea abies 'Acrocona'. Meise Botanic Garden (Acc number 19780374), near Brussels, Belgium. 29 April 2012. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

'Aero-yellow'

An irregularly upright plant of slow growth, bearing heavy crops of cones from a young age and with the leaves yellowish. To 1.5 × 1 m after ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Araucarioides'

Resembling the species except in the widely-spaced whorls of branches in the upper part of the tree. Found before 1905 in the Kámon Arboretum, Hungary (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Argentea'

A tree with white variegation but otherwise typical. It was recorded by Beissner in 1887 but Auders & Spicer (2012) consider it likely lost to cultivation.

'Argentea Pendula'

A sport with silvery new growth. It requires top-grafting to allow the branches to weep, otherwise it may be grown as a prostrate ground cover plant. It was reported from the Tharandt Arboretum, Germany in 1987, but Auders & Spicer (2012) could find no evidence this Latin name had been published prior to 1959, therefore it is invalid.

'Argenteospica'

A tree resembling the species in habit, but slow-growing and ultimately not so large, to 2 × 1.5 m in ten years. In spring the young shoots are bright creamy white, turning green as the growth matures through the summer. Raised by the Hesse Nurseries of Weener, Hanover, Germany (Auders & Spicer 2012; Bean 1976).

Young foliage on Picea abies 'Argenteospica' at Thenford House, Northamptonshire, UK. 9 May 2009. Image Owen Johnson.

Vibrant young growth on a vigorous young plant of Picea abies 'Argenteospica' at Kilworth Conifers, Leicestershire, UK. 30 March 2004. Image Derek Spicer.

'Aurea'

First reported by Carrière in 1855, for Auders & Spicer (2012) this is a strong growing plant with bright yellow leaves, reaching 3 × 1.5 m in ten years but susceptible to sunscorch. Bean (1976), however, described the leaves as pale yellow at first, turning green or green streaked with yellow, citing examples 18–27 m tall in several British gardens. These contrasting descriptions support Bean’s view that multiple clones are grown under this name, and Auders & Spicer perhaps based their description on one of the best. The dwarf form ‘Aurea WB’ was selected from a witches’ broom found on a plant of ‘Aurea’.

'Aurea Jakobsen'

Raised by Arne Vagn Jakobsen in Denmark before 1983, this is a narrow tree of upright growth, to 2.5 × 1 m after ten years, with the upper leaf surface golden yellow throughout the year (Auders & Spicer 2012). It is not clear whether the ‘Aurea’ element of the name is valid, being in Latin form and published after 1959. Picea abies ‘Jakobsen’ may be the valid name.

'Aurea Magnifica'

A pyramidal tree of slow growth and very dense habit, more shrubby than arborescent in some situations, to 1.8 × 1 m in ten years. The leaves are bright golden yellow, becomming orangey in winter. Introduced by Ottolander & Hooftman, the Netherlands, about 1899 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Aurea Magnifica' glowing at Bedgebury National Pinetum, Kent, UK, on the occasion of that collection's centenary, 19 March 2025. Image Matthew Pottage.

Picea abies 'Aurea Magnifica', early March 2014. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

The same tree of Picea abies 'Aurea Magnifica' in early March 2014. Shade clearly causes the colour to become distinctly lacklustre. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

'Aurescens'

Likely of American origin, this cultivar has a habit like the species but with young leaves golden yellow, maturing yellowish green. It was in circulation in North America prior to 1920, distributed by Westbrook Gardens, New York (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Borkenhagen'

A cultivar noted in the Botanic Garden in Krefeld, Germany, prior to 1996 and reported by Auders & Spicer (2012) who compared it with ‘Cranstonii’ and ‘Viminalis’, calling it ‘monstrous’.

'Brevifolia'

An old name that has been used for multiple clones, often listed without appropriate descriptions. Plants were still being sold under this name in North America at least as late as 2009, but it is ambiguous and its use should be discontinued and plants that are distinct re-named, as happened to ‘Crippsii’ (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Brevifolia Argentea'

‘A slow-growing conical cultivar with yellowish white foliage’ (Auders & Spicer 2012 – and presumably conspicuously short leaves?)

This Norway Spruce at Bedgebury National Pinetum, UK, is catalogued as Picea abies 'Pumila Argentea' but is clearly not a dwarf form; 'Brevifolia Argentea' might provide the best match among published names. The short needles with their greyish-yellow cast in summer make this rather slow-growing tree look more sickly than it is; at close hand the foliage is attractive. June 2024. Image Owen Johnson.

'Capitata'

A slow-growing plant of irregular habit but typically broad-pyramidal in outline, with thick and rather long branchlets that are clustered (capitate) near their ends and very thick, pale green leaves that are nearly yellow in the spring. To 70 cm tall after ten years in optimum conditions. Raised prior to 1887 in the Croux Nursery, France (Beissner 1887; Krüssmann 1985; Auders & Spicer 2012).

A touch of late frost in mid-April 2024 was enough to destroy the new shoots at the apex of this Picea abies 'Capitata' (Settrington, North Yorkshire, UK, May 2024). A new leader soon emerged. Image John Grimshaw.

Beautiful fresh spring growth on a young Picea abies 'Capitata' grown by John Grimshaw (Settrington, North Yorkshire, UK, May 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

'Cincinnata'

A small, narrowly pyramidal tree, with the lower branches bowed downward and the branchlets pendulous. To 4 × 1.5 m in ten years. Raised in 1897 by the Hesse Nursery, Germany (Auders & Spicer 2012; Krüssmann 1985). Plants so-labelled in some European collections actually represent P. orientalis (pers. obs.).

'Clanbrassiliana Stricta'

Not to be confused with ‘Clanbrassiliana’ or ‘Clanbrassiliana Elegans’, which are discussed separately under P. abies Dwarf Cultivars, ‘Clanbrassiliana Stricta’ was first recorded by Loudon (1838) who compared it with the former plant, noting that this is more conical in habit with upright branches. It also has a much faster rate of growth, to 1.2 m tall × 0.6 m broad in ten years (therefore beyond the definition of dwarf used here, and much faster than ‘Clanbrassiliana’ which might only reach 30–40 cm tall in ten years) and with very bright green leaves, more like those of ‘Clanbrassiliana Elegans’ than the dark green ones of ‘Clanbrassiliana’ (Auders & Spicer 2012).

In the 21st century the name is far more frequently met with in North America than in Europe (there are no records from The Tree Register of Britain and Ireland, for example) but a quick internet search of North American nurseries soon reveals confusion: even some specialist conifer nurseries give the history of ‘Clanbrassiliana’ as this history of this plant. Others suggest that ‘Clanbrassiliana Stricta’ was propagated from ‘Clanbrassiliana’, but there is no conclusive evidence for this, and due to the confusion that has crept in to literature, labels and databases, the question is unlikely ever to be resolved (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Clanbrassiliana Stricta' (Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, August 2022). Image John Grimshaw.

'Cobra'

A ground cover plant with the same bizzare branching pattern (that is to say barely branching at all, but producing long straight snake-like growths) of ‘Virgata’. ‘Cobra’ was raised from seed at the Iseli Nursery, Oregon, in 1998 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Columnaris'

This name was originally applied (at the rank of variety) to material raised at Cochet Nursery, France, in 1853, to describe very narrowly conical or columnar trees with very dense branching, the first order branches very short (Den Ouden & Boom 1965). The same name has since been applied to multiple clones of multiple origins. Such forms are common in the wild, especially at high altitude in the Alps and in Scandinavia, and will occur sporadically in plants raised from seed. It has little to no meaning as a cultivar name and its use should be discontinued (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Columnaris'

A name first applied to material raised at the Cochet Nursery, France before 1853, with short horizontal first order branches and very densely set second order branches and branchlets, the overall effect being a narrow, columnar tree of very dense habit. Similar forms are common in wild populations (Bean 1976), especially at high latitudes and altitudes (pers. obs.), and over the years multiple similar clones have been brought into cultivation under this name, such that it should now be treated as a horticultural Group rather than a cultivar in the strict sense (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Compacta'

A name first applied by the James Booth & Sons Nursery, Germany, to a plant broadly conical in habit with densely set, rather short branches, in ten years forming a plant 2 × 1.2 m (Den Ouden & Boom 1965). In all likelihood the name has been applied to multiple clones and it now carries little meaning (Auders & Spicer 2012). ‘Compacta Asselyn’ was described in 1939, similar but more compact still, while ‘Compacta Pyramidalis’ was reported by Beissner (1891) who likened it to ‘Ohlendorffii’. It is doubtful whether plants bearing any of these names could be confidently separated from one another.

'Conica Elegans'

A conical tree with silvery leaves raised before 1839 by James Smith, Scotland (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Cranstonii'

A tree of relatively open habit, at least at first, with long thick branches, the second order branches relatively sparse, and the leaves radially arranged and relatively sparsely set on the shoots, to 3 cm long. Raised from seed around 1840 in the Cranston Nursery, Hereford, UK (Auders & Spicer 2012). Previously treated by many authorities as a form of ‘Virgata’, and clearly a very similar mutation.

Picea abies 'Cranstonii' (Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, September 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

An unusually good, open-grown specimen of Picea abies 'Cranstonii' at Kalmthout, Belgium. September 2014. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

'Crippsii'

This is one of the more distinctive clones to have been sold under some permutation of the name “brevifolia”. It was introduced, as Abies excelsa var. brevifolia, by T. Cripps & Sons, UK, before 1875 but the same firm later renamed it ‘Crippsii’ to dispel confusion that was already building in the late 19th century (Hornibrook 1939). ‘Crippsii’ is ‘A very slow-growing, squat flat-topped cultivar with spreading ascending branches, very thin but stiff, spreading at acute angles and very densely crowded. Needles fine, thin, only 4–6mm long, yellow-green’ (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Cruenta'

Young growth initially bright red, quickly fading as the shoots mature. To 1.5 m × 1 m in ten years. Raised before 1978 by Tage Lundell, Sweden (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Cupressina'

A very striking, tightly fastigiate tree discovered before 1904 in Tambach, Thuringia, Germany by a Dr Thomas and named in 1907 (Auders & Spicer 2012; Jacobson 1996). It is widely regarded as an improvement on ‘Pyramidata’, being denser and narrower, however, similar plants may be found amongst seedlings from time to time and it is probable that several clones are now grown under this name. In the UK there are fine examples to nearly 19 m tall at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, and to 17.4 m at Bedgebury National Pinetum (Tree Register 2025). It has been planted by Dan Hinkley at both Heronswood and Windcliff gardens in Washington state, making fine specimens in both.

Picea abies 'Cupressina' forming an impressive background to the planting at Heronswood Garden, Washington (June 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Picea abies 'Cupressina' grown from cuttings at Windcliff, Indianola, Washington (June 2023). It makes a remarkably tight column. Image John Grimshaw.

Picea abies 'Cupressina' (centre right) 17 m tall after 30 years' growth at Bedgebury National Pinetum, UK. The superbly neat habit of this clone contrasts with that of the much less strictly fastigiate 'Columnaris' of similar age and stature to the left. Image Owen Johnson.

'Denudata'

An old name for a sparesely branched, slow-growing tree, intermediate between ‘Cranstonii’ and ‘Monstrosa’. Similar forms were found in native forests on multiple occasions in the 19th century and it seems very likely that multiple clones were sold under this name (Auders & Spicer 2012). Previously considered lost (Krüssmann 1985) it was listed by an Illinois Nursery in 2011 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Depressa'

An old cultivar of European origin, with an erect trunk and strongly pendulous branches (Beissner 1891). Auders & Spicer (2012) mention an old tree in the Geneva Botanical Garden, Switzerland, but the present author could not find it in 2024 (pers. obs.).

'Dicksonii'

Quite like ‘Cranstonii’ but more densely branched and with reddish shoots (Auders & Spicer 2012; Beissner 1891).

'Dubrava'

A seedling of ‘Aurea Magnifica’ selected in the Dubrava Arboretum, Lithuania, before 1995. Named for that arboretum, this cultivar has yellowish summer foliage, becoming a more striking golden yellow in the winter months. To 2 m tall in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars

Here we list a curated selection of cultivars that remain less than 1 m tall and broad ten years from planting. For further introductory remarks on cultivars see the notes at the end of the genus article.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Abbeyleixensis'

An extreme dwarf remaining less than 30 × 20 cm after ten years, with very fine twisted needles and pendulous branch tips. Found at Abbeyleix, Ireland, in 1916.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Aurea WB'

A clone named from a witches’ broom found on a tree of ‘Aurea’ and cultivated in Germany before 2003. Very slow, to 10–20 cm tall and broad after ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Barryi'

A slow-growing plant, globose at first but later conical in habit with dense, irregular, spreading branches, reported from American cultivation by Beissner (1887). Named for Patrick Barry (1816–1890), noted American nurserman and horticulturist of Rochester, New York (Auders & Spicer 2012).

An ancient specimen of Picea abies 'Barryi' at the Botanical Garden of Geneva, Switzerland. 10 February 2024. Image Tom Christian.

Picea abies 'Barryi' at Pinetum Ickx, Belgium. March 2013. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Beissneri'

A peculiar plant of compact habit and slow growth, probably originating in Germany but apparently first listed by Hornibrook in 1939. If Hornibrook named it, he clearly didn’t think much of Ludwig Beissner! It is described as having ‘thick monstrous branches and contorted short shoots with large buds. Needles short, stiff, very thick, prickly, clustered and radially arranged’ (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Bella'

Described by Auders & Spicer (2012) as ‘A miniature flattened bun with blue-green needles. In ten years 20 × 40cm’. Although found in Czechia it was possibly put into commerce by Stanley & Sons of Oregon in 2009.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Bennett's Miniature'

This plant differs from most extreme dwarfs originating from witches’ brooms in its habit, being a very dense, narrowly conical plant rather than a nondescript blob. It has very short leaves, to 6 mm, and can grow 40 cm tall in ten years. It was found at Princeton, West Virginia, in 1964 and introduced to cultivation by W.M. Bennett of Virginia (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Bergman's Flat Top'

One of several cultivars Pennsylvania nurseryman Fred Bergman named after himself, and perhaps the only one still extant (most were lost after his nursery, Raraflora Nursery, was sold). Auders & Spicer (2012) describe it as ‘a spreading plant with grey-green foliage’.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Berry Garden'

Raised in the United States before 1990, this is described as ‘A very slow-growing cultivar with dark green needles and conspicuous buds’ (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Blue Trout'

This plant may be distinct enough to merit such an eye-catching name: it is a spreading bush which in ten years might grow to be 30 cm tall but twice as much across. It was listed by Buchholz & Buchholz Nursery, Oregon, in 2009 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Bonitz'

A conical plant with upright branches and particularly dark green leaves. Listed by Porterhowse Farms, Oregon, in 2009 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Brabant'

A compact, globose plant that only just meets the definition of ‘dwarf’ applied here, making a plant 1 × 1 m in ten years. Listed by the Oregon firm Bucholz & Bucholz in 2009 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Calvary Upright'

A witches’ broom, ultimately taller than wide, found by Randy Dykstra in Illinois in 1978 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Cellensis'

An old cultivar raised before 1903 by L. Schiebler & Son Nursery, Germany, forming a regular, conical plant with fine, delicate features including very slender branchlets, densely covered with extremely short leaves (3–4 mm) which are variegated yellow at first, turning green through the summer (Beissner 1909; Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Cinderella'

A slow-growing plant with upright branches and short grey-green leaves. This cultivar was at risk of being lost until propagated by the late Derek Spicer in 1977 from an old plant at Bozenham Mill Nursery, Northamptonshire, UK (Auders & Spicer 2012) but it does not appear still to be in commerce. According to the rules of nomenclature for cultivated plants, a cultivar name can only be used once within a genus, but a quick internet search soon reveals that the name ‘Cinderella’ is also used for clones of P. glauca and P. omorika. Whichever use of the name came first is the correct one, and the others should be renamed.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Clanbrassiliana'

It might surprise those who know this plant as an old tree to find it categorised as a dwarf, but it is consistently treated as such. Although ultimately a tree after a century or more, one feature of ‘Clanbrassiliana’ is its extraordinarily slow rate of growth, taking up to thirty years to reach 1 m in height and only achieving 30–40 cm in ten years (Bean 1976; Auders & Spicer 2012). In youth (that is to say, for the better part of their first 100 years) plants develop an irregularly globose shape, usually flat-topped and growing wider than tall, very densely branched and the leaves short and crowded on the branchlets (Auders & Spicer 2012; Dirr 2009).

The public-facing database of the Tree Register of Britain and Ireland lists twenty clearly very old trees, ranging in height from 8 m to 15 m, widely distributed throughout the UK and Ireland (Tree Register 2024). This clone is prone to develop multiple leaders, the removal of which would render young plants irredeemably ugly, so they tend to be left, and many mature examples are consequently multistemmed. In very old trees the leaf arrangement becomes more radial. Consequently, as an old plant, ‘Clanbrassiliana’ is one of the more easily recognised P. abies selections.

According to Auders & Spicer (2012) this was the earliest dwarf conifer to be named, around 1780, after being discovered on the Moira estate near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Lord Clanbrassil moved the original plant to his home at Tullymore Park, County Down, where it was just over 5 m tall in 1956, and continued to grow until at least 2009, possibly later.

The cultivar ‘Clanbrassiliana Elegans’ is probably lost, and if it still exists in old gardens is likely indistinguishable, the only consistently reported point of difference being leaves of a bright, vibrant green rather than the typical dark green of the species (Auders & Spicer 2012). ‘Clanbrassiliana Stricta’ is treated separately and does not qualify as a dwarf based on the definition used here.

Picea abies 'Clanbrassiliana' at the Gliffaes Hotel in the Usk valley, Wales, UK; September 2017. Image Owen Johnson.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Compressa'

A compact dwarf plant raised in the Gorestgarden in Diedorf, Ausburg, Germany before 1903 (Den Ouden & Boom 1965).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Congesta'

A globose dwarf of very congested growth reported from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1984 (Auders & Spicer 2012) but no longer recorded there (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 2024).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Coolwyn Globe'

A dwarf, perhaps derived from a witches’ broom, to 70 × 70 cm in ten years, raised by Leo Koelwyn, Australia before 2000 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Dan's Dwarf'

A witches’ broom forming a dense, flat-topped bun. Selected prior to 1999 by Greg Williams in Vermont (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Dazzler'

A cross between ‘Acrocona’ and ‘Gold Drift’ made by Robert Fincham in Washington in 2004. This cultivar combines the terminal cones of the former parent with the golden-yellow leaf colour of the latter. To 70 cm tall in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Decumbens'

Described by Hornibrook (1939) as a broad, flat-topped, spreading dwarf, comparable to ‘Nidiformis’ but with paler leaves. Auders & Spicer (2012) found plants so-labelled to be more upright or globose and suspected a different clone, but this may be the effects of age.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Diedorfiana'

A very short-leaved plant with new shoots and leaves golden yellow, remaining so until into their first winter. Raised prior to 1903 in the Ausberg Arboretum, Germany (Auders & Spicer 2012) it is assumed to meet our definition of dwarf (remaining less than 1 m tall after ten years).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Diffusa'

Originally described as a low-growing and wide-spreading plant with yellowish leaves (Hornibrook 1939), plants sold under this name in the early 21st century were suspected by Auders & Spicer (2012) to represent a different clone, differing in their greener leaves and more upright habit.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Dolanky'

A flat-topped dwarf to 40 cm tall in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Doone Valley'

A globose witches’ broom with very short leaves found prior to 1971 by UK collector J.W. Archer (Auders & Spicer 2012), perhaps in the Doone Valley in Devon, England.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Dumosa'

An old name first recored by Carriere in 1855, and frequently included in literature until the mid-20th century, but considered lost to cultivation by Auders & Spicer (2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Dumpy'

An extremely small plant of excruciatingly slow growth (to 10 cm tall and broad in as many years), ‘Dumpy’ was found as a witches’ broom on ‘Pygmaea’ (itself one of the oldest dwarfs in existence) at Red Lodge Nursery, UK, c. 1970. Proclaimed by Auders & Spicer as ‘at one time probably the smallest Picea in cultivation’ (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Dundang'

Found as a seedling in native forest in Latvia, this clone forms a compact pyramidal plant to 60 cm tall × 35 cm broad in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Echiniformis'

One of the older dwarfs listed here, having been offered by the Peter Lawson & Son nursery firm of Edinburgh, UK, before 1875. This clone is somewhat unusual among dwarfs for combining a very slow growth rate and a tight, cushion-like habit, with rather long leaves, but Auders & Spicer (2012) note long standing confusion with ‘Gregoryana’.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Ellwangeriana'

A pyramidal dwarf, to 70 cm tall in ten years, the branches very dense and upward pointing, but the plant lacks a central leader. Named prior to 1891, either for the Ellwanger & Barry nursery of New York or else for the proprietor of the same (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Engadin'

A witches’ broom with foliage similar to ‘Pachyphylla’, found by Günther Horstmann at Engadin, Germany, prior to 1978 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Eva'

A globose to pyramidal witches’ broom found before 1978 by Tage Lundell, Sweden (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Fähndrich'

A witches’ broom to 30 × 30 cm in ten years, found in Germany before 1983 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Faskally Sport'

An upright pyramidal plant with strong variegation, a few branchlets and even entire branches a strong yellow. In North American cultivation before 2000 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Faskally Sport' in a private garden in the Netherlands. 7 June 2014. Image Derek Spicer.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Fat Cat'

A globose dwarf to 50 cm across in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Four Winds'

Globose at dwarf, with age more conical. Similar to ‘Echiniformis’ but larger overall and with incurved, darker green leaves. Raised in the UK by Ken Potts, prior to 1980 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Fritsche'

A witches’ broom with bluish-green leaves, found in Czechia before 2000 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Gamshutte'

A globose plant with bluish-green leaves, to 30 × 30 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Gem'

Found on the Iseli Nursery, Oregon, in 1992 as a witches’ broom on ‘Nidiformis’ (itself a broad, flat-topped dwarf) this forms a more globose plant, to 75 cm tall and broad in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Gerhard'

A witches’ broom forming a small, flat-topped plant to 20 cm tall in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Globosa'

An early witches’ broom, probably named in 1887, forming a globose plant to 1 × 1 m in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Goblin'

A compact plant of very stiff habit, globose at first, later somewhat conical (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Gracildam'

‘A diminutive bush’ raised in Canada by E. Lohbrunner, before 1995 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Gregoryana'

A very early dwarf selection, put into commerce by John Jefferies & Sons of Cirencester, UK, in 1856. This is a slow-growing dwarf, ultimately slightly wider than tall, very like ‘Echiniformis’ but differing in the radially arranged, deep green and shorter leaves (8–12 mm long) (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Gregoryana WB'

A witches’ broom found on a plant of ‘Gregoryana’, forming a very dense cushion to 20 × 20 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Güdüla'

A pyramidal plant with pale green leaves (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Gull's Nest'

A low, spreading plant of irregular habit, to just 40 cm tall but more than twice as much across in ten years. In North American cultivation prior to 1999 but of uncertain origin (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Gymnoclada'

Found before 1938 in a Dutch nursery seed bed, this is a travesty of a plant, slow-growing and conical in habit with some branches thick, others slender, some densely crowded with leaves, others almost bare (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Haga'

A globose or flat-topped witches’ broom selected by Tage Lundell, Sweden, before 1981 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Hasin'

A witches’ broom to 30 cm tall and broad in ten years, introduced by the Horstmann Nurseries, Germany (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Hauenstein'

A globose witches’ broom found and introduced before 1983 by Fritz Hauenstein, Switzerland (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Heartland Gem'

A cushion forming plant, to 30 × 30 cm after ten years, selected by Chub Harper of Illinois, prior to 1990 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Highlandia'

A globose plant of very uniform growth, the branches ascending and the leaves somewhat bluish green. Raised prior to 1926 in Highland Park, Rochester, New York (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Hiiumaa'

A ‘very compact, diminutive bun’ with extremely short leaves, raised before 1990 in Hiiumaa, Estonia (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Hildburghausen'

A globose dwarf to 30 cm tall and broad in ten years, probably raised in Germany (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Hlubdt'

A globose witches’ broom to 40 × 40 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Hopen'

A flat-topped dwarf, similar to ‘Nidiformis’ but slower growing, perhaps to 20 × 40 cm after ten years. Introduced by the Horstmann nursery, Germany, by 1983 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Horace Wilson'

A flat-topped cushion, like a smaller version of ‘Little Gem’ (the spruce, not the lettuce). Sold for a while in the early 2000s by the Kenwith Nursery, UK (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Horizontalis'

A low, ultimately wide-spreading plant raised in the UK before 1864 but now probably lost to cultivation (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Hornibrookii'

A low, wide-spreading, flat-topped shrub with densely set, horizontal branches. Discovered by Murray Hornibrook and introduced by P. den Ouden of the Netherlands in 1937 (Den Ouden & Boom 1965).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Humilis'

An old, minute, somewhat conical selection that has been compared with ‘Pygmaea’, but differing in its pale yellowish brown buds (cf. dark brown) (Auders & Spicer 2012; Beissner 1887).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Humphrey's Gem'

A witches’ broom found in the United States before 1986, forming a small, flat-topped plant to 30 × 45 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Hystrix'

This name was first applied, by Hornibrook in 1923, to a small bun of stiff, irregular growth received from Germany, capable of growing to 40 × 40 cm in ten years. More recently the name has been applied to material in North American cultivation that is quite different, forming an upright, somewhat open dwarf (Auders & Spicer 2012, who recommend the latter plant is renamed).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Inversa Viridis Ďáblice'

A slow growing plant with an erect leading shoot and strongly weeping side branches, bearing silvery-grey leaves. To 1 m tall in ten years, but may require staking. Raised in Czechia before 2002 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Ives'

A globose dwarf with short, radially arranged leaves. To 30 × 30 cm in ten years. Raised around 1998 by Dainis Ozolins at the Ives Nursery, Latvia (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Jana'

A spreading cushion with bright green leaves, to 15 × 30 cm after ten years. Selected as a witches’ broom in Czechia in 1945 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Japan Cream'

A slow-growing pyramidal selection, raised in Japan by Masato Yokoi before 2008, with cream-variegated leaves. Exceptionally to 1 m after ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Jessy'

A favourite of Auders & Spicer who call it a ‘gem’, this cultivar can grow to 20 × 20 cm in ten years, with many short branches curving toward the upright and bearing radially arranged, bright green leaves. Raised from seed in 1982 at the Iseli Nursery, Oregon (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Jizerske Hory'

A flat-topped globe of very dense growth, to 25 × 25 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Jogeua'

A mounded dwarf forming a plant 1 m tall and broad after ten years, with bright green leaves. Offered by the Iseli Nursery, Oregon, since 2009 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Johanka'

A globose witches’ broom to 40 cm tall and broad in ten years. Raised in Czechia before 2005 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kaiser'

A pyramidal dwarf of exceptionally slow growth, to just 10 cm in ten years, cultivated in Austria before 2000 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kamberk'

An unusual witches’ broom of vaguely upright habit with glaucous leaves. Found before 2006 in Czechia (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kámon'

Found before 1955 in the Hungarian arboretum of the same name, this cultivar was propagated from a witches’ broom that had developed on a specimen of ‘Cranstonii’. It forms a robust plant with radially arranged glaucous leaves, growing wider than tall (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kapeller'

A witches’ broom discovered in Austria before 2000 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Karlotejn'

A small plant growing wider than tall, probably of American origin. Leaves faintly bluish green (Auders & Spicer 2012)

Dwarf Cultivars
'Karlsbo'

A narrowly pyramidal plant to 50 cm tall in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Katka'

A spreading plant with pale green leaves, raised in Czechia before 2005 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Katusice'

A globose plant of very slow growth, to 20 cm tall and broad in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kellerman's Blue Cameo'

A low, irregular plant growing slightly broader than tall, with stiff, thick, somewhat glaucous leaves. First recorded from the United States by Hatch in 1983 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Keven'

A witches’ broom found in Germany before 2003. Very slow growth, to 10 cm tall and broad in as many years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kingsville Fluke'

A name recorded by Auders & Spicer as having been listed by Hillside Gardens, Pennsylvania in 1970, but without further details (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kirkpatrick'

An upright irregular plant cultivated in North America before 1991 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Klokočka'

A witches’ broom found in Czechia before 1995 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kluis'

A low, spreading plant with numerous ascending branches, some of them suddenly extending quite some length, thereafter continuing to produce only very short annual extension growth. Discovered or raised c. 1970 by Rudi Kluis and introduced by his nursery in the United States. The same cultivar name has also been used for a P. pungens selection; cultivar names may only be used once in a genus and so one of these plants must be renamed (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Kluis' in a rock garden setting. The Erythronium seed capsule in the foreground emphasises the dwarf stature of this slow-growing cultivar (Leach Botanical Garden, Portland, Oregon, United States; 19 June 2022). Image Julian Sutton.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Knaptonensis'

A low-growing dwarf of slow growth, perhaps only 15 cm tall in ten years but up to twice as broad in the same timespan. Named for the estate in Laois, Ireland, where it was discovered as a witches’ broom by Hornibrook in the early 1920s (he named it in 1923). Confusion with P. orientalis is perhaps due to the very short leaves, 5–7 mm long (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kornell's Yellow Dwarf'

A globose plant to 1 m tall and broad after ten years, bearing bright yellow leaves (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kotel'

A low, spreading plant of irregular growth, to 30 × 40 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kraca'

A globose dwarf listed by the Stanley & Sons nursery of Oregon in 2009. Similar to ‘Little Gem’ but considered an improvement as its pale green leaves do not scorch. The same cultivar name has been used under P. omorika but only one use in the same genus is permitted according to the international rules for the naming of cultivated plants (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Král'

A globose witches’ broom to 50 cm tall and broad in ten years, introduced by the Horstmann nursery, Germany, in 1992 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Kremelec'

A globose witches’ broom selected in Austria before 2002, to 20 cm tall and broad in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Krockling'

A small conical plant with the leaves adpressed to the shoot. Raised around 1948 by Tage Lundell, Sweden (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Krting'

A globose dwarf with ‘relatively dark’ coloured leaves. To 30 cm tall and broad in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Lanham's Beehive'

Described as beehive-shaped, but the young plant illustrated in Auders & Spicer (2012)​​​​​ is a low, spreading, flat-topped affair. The beehive shape may develop with age. Raised by Gary Lanham in Kentucky in 1994 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Lawine'

A flattened cushion with short leaves, to 50 × 70 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Layne's Globe'

Selected from a witches’ broom growing on a specimen of ‘Clanbrassiliana’ by Layne Ziegenfuss, Pennsylvania, prior to 1980. Despite the name this cultivar becomes flat-topped with age. To 50 cm tall and broad in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Lazne Kinzvart'

A globose dwarf of very slow growth, to just 10 cm tall and broad in as many years. Cultivated in Austria by 2005, the origin is uncertain; the cultivar name appears to be Slavic in origin (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Lemon Drop'

A globose dwarf with lemon-yellow leaves raised from a cross between ‘Acrocona’ and ‘Gold Drift’ made by Robert Fincham, Washington, United States in 2004. To 50 cm tall and broad in ten years. Despire the slow growth, the leaves are standard size (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Lemon Drop'. The Netherlands. 7 June 2014. Image Derek Spicer.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Liltenal'

A globose plant of very slow growth, to 10 cm tall and broad in as many years. A witches’ broom cultivated in Austria since before 2005 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Little Gem'

A popular cultivar, selected from a witches’ broom on a specimen of ‘Nidiformis’ in the nursery of F.J. Grootendorst, the Netherlands, before 1960. ‘Little Gem’ forms a low, spreading, flat-topped plant with a ‘nest-like depression’ in the centre. The leaves are very fine and very short (2–5 mm); to 30 × 45 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Little Joe'

A conical plant selected before 1970 by Layne Ziegenfuss, Pennsylvania (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Lombartsii'

A slow-growing plant of open habit with stiff, ascending branches bearing rather thick, dark green leaves of typical dimensions. To 1 m tall and broad in ten years. Raised around 1914 by the Pierre Lombarts Nursery, the Netherlands, and distributed from 1932 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Lovik'

A witches’ broom found by Tage Lundell in Sweden before 1978 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Lucky Strike'

A small, slow-growing tree of irregular habit and little beauty, but noteworthy for bearing heavy crops of cones from a young age. Although it was originally recorded as a P. pungens cultivar, raised from seed and introduced by the van Vliet Brothers nursery in Boskoop, the Netherlands in 1983, the cones are unmistakably those of P. abies (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Luna'

A globose witches’ broom with pale green leaves selected in Czechia before 2004 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Luua'

A slow-growing shrubby selection, described as beehive-shaped but rather squat in its proportions when young, later becoming somewhat taller than wide. To 1 m tall in ten years. Selected in Luua, Estonia, before 1980 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Luua Parl'

An elegant, symmetrical, broadly pyramidal plant with rather short pale green leaves, to 50 cm tall and broad in ten years. Raised before 1980 in Luua, Estonia (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Maleček'

A globose witches’ broom selected in Germany before 2004 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Malena'

A compact plant of slightly irregular, dense growth, eventually cloud-like in shape. To 30 cm tall and broad in ten years. Raised by Hauenstein AG, Switzerland in 1985 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Mali WB'

A globose witches’ broom with pale green leaves, selected in Czechia before 2005 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Marcella'

An irregular, slow growing plant, to 20 cm tall and broad in ten years. A witches’ broom selected in Austria before 2004 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Mariae Orffiae'

A small, compact plant with many upright branches and spreading branchlets bearing quite short leaves. Found near Unteralting, Germany, by Maria Seifert-Orff in 1928 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Mauthneralm'

A flat-topped dwarf with distinctly glaucous, radially arranged, rather thick leaves and thick, conical buds. These characters, illustrated in Auders & Spicer (2012)​, are more suggestive of P. pungens than this species, but we give their determination the benefit of the doubt here.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Maxwellii'

Even by the early 20th century authorities considered at least three distinct clones to be in commerce under this name, but the original plant was raised around 1853 at the T.C. Maxwell Bros nursery in New York. It formed a low, somewhat globose cushion with many short, thick branches and radially arranged, thick leaves (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Medusa'

A compact plant to 30 × 40 cm in ten years, notable for bearing heavy crops of small cones at the branch tips. Raised before 2000 at the Boyko Nursery, Oregon (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Merkii'

A rather irregular plant, described by Auders & Spicer (2012) as ‘globose to broadly conical […] short-branched […] with main branches horizontal and ascending with pendulous tips’. Slow to moderate growth, 3–8 cm per year. An old cultivar in cultivation since 1884 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Microsperma'

An intriguing plant, described by Auders & Spicer (2012) ​​​as having crowded buds at the branch tips, short (6–8 mm) S-shaped leaves, but no mention is made of the cones in spite of the name. Recorded from Kew, Glasnevin and Rochester (New York) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Midget'

A globose dwarf raised in the Netherlands before 1996. The same cultivar name has also been used under P. sitchensis; since duplicate cultivars are not permitted in a genus one of these selections should be renamed (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Midland No 2'

A slow growing witches’ broom of very dense habit and with very short leaves, cultivated in Germany before 2002 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Mikulašovice'

A witches’ broom selected in Czechia before 2000. Moderate growth, to 40 × 40 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Moscowensis'

A witches’ broom selected by Tage Lundell before 1973. The young growth in spring is dark red, greening up after two to three weeks. The cultivar name in Latin is probably invalid as no evidence of publication prior to 1959 has been found (Auders & Spicer 2012). Those authors state that Lundell found this plant ‘in a Swedish Botanic Garden’ but the cultivar name seems to suggest otherwise!

Dwarf Cultivars
'Moskowika'

Similar to ‘Viminalis’ with red young growth. Recorded from Germany before 1983 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Motala'

A witches’ broom found sometime prior to 1972 in the eponymous Swedish town by a friend of Tage Lundell, this cultivar forms a low growing bush ultimately wider than tall, with erect branches bearing radially arranged, rather thick, blunt-tipped silvery blue leaves. To 50 × 80 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Mucronata'

A stout, slow-growing plant forming a broad-based pyramid of somewhat irregular growth, resembling a solid green, loosely pyramidal cloud. To 1 m tall and broad in ten years, and after many years forming a small tree (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Muhlerin'

A globose witches’ broom of very slow growth, selected in Germany before 2000 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Murphy'

A flat-topped plant of irregular growth, with extremely short leaves. To 30 × 50 cm in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Mýta'

A globose witches’ broom selected in Czechia before 2002 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Nana'

A conical plant with two key points of curiosity: first, the branches are very thick, stiff, and often contorted; second, the leaves vary enormously in length between branchlets, from 2–15 mm. Recorded by Carriere in 1855, this cultivar only just qualifies as a dwarf based on the criteria used here, reaching 1 m tall in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Nana Compacta'

Ultimately a large, globose, somewhat irregular bush, but to only 1 m tall after ten years. The upper branches are ascendant, the leaves radially arranged, very densely set on the shoots, and rather stiff. Raised before 1950 at the Hesse Nurseries, Germany (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Nana Kalous'

A compact bun, selected from a witches’ broom on a plant of ‘Nidiformis’ in Czechia before 1999 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Nidiformis'

An old cultivar, raised prior to 1904 in the Rulemann Grisson nursery, Germany, and still popular today. It forms a spreading, flat-topped bush to 25 × 60 cm in ten years, but ultimately considerably larger, with age developing a distinctive nest-like depression in the centre (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Nidiformis' at Fircroft Alpine Nursery, UK. 28 April 2004. Image Derek Spicer.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Norway Pyramid Broom'

An irregularly globose witches’ broom of very slow growth, cultivated in Germany before 2005 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Ohlendorffii'

A slow-growing pyramidal shrub, <1 m tall in ten years but ultimately perhaps as much as 2 m tall. Leaves pale somewhat yellowish green (Bean 1976). This cultivar was selected at the Theodore Ohlendorff Nursery in Hamburg in the 1840s, from a batch of young plants raised from seed sent by Nikita Botanical Garden near Yalta. It was put into commerce by Späth of Berlin in 1904 (Krüssmann 1985; D. Goodfellow, pers. comm. 2025).

Picea abies 'Ohlendorffii' (RHS Garden Wisley, UK, April 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Picea abies 'Ohlendorffii' (RHS Garden Wisley, UK, April 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Pachyphylla'

For Auders and Spicer this is ‘a very distinctive plant’ of irregular habit, rather open with flattened branchlets, and ‘very thick and fleshy, glossy bluish green, radially arranged’ needles. Recorded from Kew by Hornibrook in 1923 (Hornibrook 1939) its origin has always been unclear; the original plant was already 15 years old when Hornibrook named it. Several more recent collections have been compared with this clone.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Parsonsii'

Similar to ‘Gregoryana’ (q.v.) but of a much more open habit, the leaves longer and not so radially arranged on the shoots. Introduced before 1923 by S.B. Parsons & Sons, New York (Krüssmann 1985; Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Procumbens'

A neat, low, spreading plant of uniform growth with slighly ascendent branchlets. In ten years to 30 cm tall and 80 cm across. Listed in France in 1855 (Krüssmann 1985; Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Pumila'

A globose plant with the lower branches horizontal (or depressed if top-grafted), the upper branches more or less erect but without a single leader, forming a mound between 30–60 cm tall and broad in ten years. Leaves bright green in summer, relatively pale when breaking bud in spring. Listed in 1874 by R. Smith in the UK (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Pumila' at Plant Delights Nursery, North Carolina, USA. 3 November 2025. Image Tom Christian.

Picea abies 'Pumila' foliage. Plant Delights Nursery, North Carolina, USA. 3 November 2025. Image Tom Christian.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Pusch'

Selected from a witches’ broom found on a specimen of ‘Acrocona’ (q.v.) by a Mr Pusch of Germany before 1975, this plant forms a rounded shrub that produces miniature, bright red terminal seed cones even from a young age (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Pusch'. Leicestershir, UK, 6 May 2009. Image Derek Spicer.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Pygmaea'

One of the oldest dwarf cultivars, in cultivation in Britain since c. 1800 (Loudon 1838). It forms a small impenetrable bun of a plant, of very dense and congested growth, to 20–30 × 10–15 cm after ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Pygmaea'. A private garden in New York, United States. 1 August 2009. Image Derek Spicer.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Remontii'

Very similar in overall effect to the much more familiar clone Picea glauca ‘Albertiana Conica’, but with less glaucous leaves. To 50 cm tall in ten years under optimum conditions. Cultivated in Britain since 1872 (Hornibrook 1939; Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Repens'

A plant of layered growth forming a low, spreading mat to 50 cm across after ten years, the centre slightly mounded after some time. First recorded in France in 1898 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Repens' (RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Harrogate, UK, 29 April 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Dwarf Cultivars
'Spring Fire'

For the late Aris Auders and Derek Spicer this diminutive plant was ‘one of the rarest and most desirable’ Picea abies cultivars, on account of being one of very few to combine the bright red spring growth seen in many larger-growing selections with a true dwarf habit, remaining about 40 cm tall and broad after ten years, making it suitable for restricted spaces. Selected from a witches’ broom that had developed on a specimen of ‘Cruenta’ in the Iseli Nursery, Oregon before 2004 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars
'Vermont Gold'

A low, spreading mat bearing lemon-yellow new leaves in spring, soon darkening to a golden-yellow. The colour is most vivid when grown in full sun, but the plant can scorch easily before it is properly established. To 30 cm tall and 60 cm across after ten years. Raised in Vermont by Greg Williams before 1995 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Effusa'

A plant of uncertain origin, possibly raised at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens (Hampshire, UK) where a plant accessioned in 1977 has made a tree 10.6 m tall × 20 cm dbh in 2024 (Tree Register 2025). The Hillier Manual, however, describes this clone as ‘a dense, compact, dwarf bush of irregular dome-shaped habit. Suitable for a rock garden’ (Edwards & Marshall 2019). Reversion is perhaps a problem.

'Elegans'

One of the oldest Picea abies cultivars, listed by the firm Knight & Perry in 1850, ‘Elegans’ forms a globose to ‘squatly conical’ plant, densely branched, the branches drooping at their tips (Auders & Spicer 2012). It has been confused in the past with ‘Clanbrassiliana Elegans’. It may not be very different from ‘Conica Elegans’ (a plant so-labelled, that used to grow in a private garden in Norfolk, UK, is listed under the name ‘Elegans’ by the Tree Register of Britain and Ireland – Tree Register 2025).

'Elegantissima'

A tree of rapid growth with the young shoots and leaves cream coloured, fading to green ‘dusted with white’ through the summer (Auders & Spicer 2012). An old cultivar raised before 1867 by the de Vos nursery in the Netherlands. It is no longer in commerce in Europe but has been listed by several North American nurseries in the 21st century (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Emsland'

Selected in Germany before 1978, this is a compact, conical plant, slower growing than the species (to 3 × 1 m in ten years) (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Falcata'

A tree with sickle-shaped branches found in the garden of the Prince of Lippe, Germany, in 1912. Similar forms have been reported from the wild (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Falcatoviminalis'

Similar to ‘Falcata’ but with upturned branches bearing limp pendulous shoots. Probably of German origin (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Farnsburg'

A sprawling mat or, if staked, a small tree with pendulous branches and branchlets. A seedling of ‘Inversa’ raised in Switzerland before 1979 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Finedonensis'

Ultimately a large tree, typical of the species in habit, but with new growth pale creamy yellow, fading as summer commences to leave a dusting of white on the leaves. A handsome tree when grown well, but susceptible to sunscorch. Raised from seed at Finedon Hall, Northamptonshire, UK before 1858, there are records to 21 m at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens (in 2017) (Auders & Spicer 2012; Tree Register 2025).

'Formanek'

A slow-growing plant that either forms a prostrate mat or, if staked, a short tree with pendulous branches. Raised from seed in Czechia before 1906 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Frohburg'

A seedling of ‘Inversa’ raised in Switzerland, ‘Frohburg’ forms a leader with strongly pendulous branches and branchlets, but it requires staking. To 2 m in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Glauca Fastigiata'

The earliest record of this name comes from Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, who received a plant so-labelled from L. Konijn & Co., the Netherlands, but no further information has come to light. The cultivar name in Latin is only valid if proved to have been published before 1959 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Gold Drift'

A tree combining pendulous branches with yellow leaves. It must be staked to the desired height (potentially 2 m tall after ten years) and protected from strong sun whilst establishing as this can scorch the tree. It was selected by Robert Fincham of Washington, United States, as a mutation on ‘Reflexa’ (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Gold Dust'

A slow-growing plant of narrow, conical habit, the leaves appearing as though dusted in gold. The oldest leaves on each annual shoot can be entirely yellow, those nearest the bud entirely green, and those in between with the gold-coloured dusting. Raised in 1981 by Bucholz & Bucholz, Oregon (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Gold Strike'

A narrow, upright tree (not fastigiate) with the upper leaf surfaces golden yellow, green beneath. Raised before 1995 by Bill Janssen, Washington, United States (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Helene Cordes'

An open plant of shrubby habit, with the leaves pale yellow. Slow growing, but capable of 1.5 m in ten years and not quite within the definition of dwarf used here. An old cultivar raised in the Frahm Nurseries, Germany, in 1886 (Auders & Spicer 2012; Krüssmann 1985).

'Hillside Upright'

An upright, conical plant of slow growth, on the cusp of qualifying as a dwarf based on the definition employed here. Plants develop a stout leader, the main branches very densely branched in turn, with the profusion of branchlets giving a bushy, foxtail like appearance. An unusual, but by no means beautiful selection from a witches’ broom found before 1970 by Layne Ziegenfuss in Pennsylvania (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Himfa'

In every sense a miniature version of the species, entirely typical except for its small stature and short leaves, to 1.5 m tall after ten years. Raised in 1954 at the Barabits nursery, Hungary (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Holmstrup'

A densely branched plant, ultimately forming a broad-based pyramid. Selected in Denmark by Asger M. Jensen, in 1938 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Horstmann Yellow'

An upright pyramidal plant with pale yellow leaves throughout the year, the colour strongest on the youngest shoots. Rather modest, to 2 m tall in ten years. Introduced before 1998 by the eponymous German nurseries (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Inversa'

Initially a narrowly columnar plant with a strongly upright leader, the first order branches strongly weeping, hugging the trunk. It was found by one R. Smith at Kinlet Hall, Shropshire, UK around 1855 (Auders & Spicer 2012; Beissner 1887). After many years, and particularly if the leading shoot is damaged and secondary leaders develop, plants can develop extraordinary forms, such as one in the botanical garden in Geneva, Switzerland, that looks like an enormous dancing octopus (pers. obs.). Not to be confused with ‘Inversa Viridis Ďáblice’ (see under Dwarf Cultivars).

A lolloping Picea abies 'Inversa' at the Botanical Garden of Geneva, Switzerland. 10 February 2024. Image Tom Christian.

Picea abies 'Inversa' photographed just before a midwinter sunset at Bicton Park Botanical Gardens, Devon, UK. December 2018. Image Tom Christian.

'Iola'

A small tree with contorted branches and branchlets. Recorded from Hillside Gardens, Pennsylvania, in 1970 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Kalmthout'

Very like ‘Nidiformis’ but of much stronger growth, and probably not quite meeting the criteria for dwarf applied in this account. The parent tree reached 5 × 10 m in the eponymous arboretum in Belgium in 1979 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Konca'

A rather handsome, slow growing pyramidal plant to 2 × 1 m in ten years, with yellow leaves throughout the year. Raised by Anton Konca in Poland in 1980 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Loreley'

A slow-growing (1–1.5 m tall after ten years) weeping plant, the main stem usually bowed even when staked, the lowest branches creeping along the ground unless removed. Introduced in 1975 by the F.J. Grootendorst & Sons nursery, the Netherlands (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Lubecensis'

A striking small tree of neat, tidy habit, conical to pyramidal in outline and 2–3 m tall after ten years. The new spring growth is golden-yellow, fading to green through the summer; the leaves are approximately half the size typical for the species (Auders & Spicer 2012). Despite being an old cultivar – raised before 1903 by W. Rose in Lübeck, Germany – it has never become as popular as comparable selections like P. orientalis ‘Aurea’.

'Microphylla'

A tree typical in habit and vigour but bearing extremely short leaves, similar to those of P. orientalis but finer. Known from 1855 but now possibly lost to cultivation (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Minutifolia'

A slow growing tree with relatively widely set, very thin branches, bearing extremely short, fine leaves (2–3 mm long). To 1.5–2 m tall after ten years. Raised before 1923 at the F.J. Grootendorst & Sons nursery, the Netherlands (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Monstrosa'

An extraordinary plant, this is truly one for a collector: a single, usually unbranched protrusion erupting from the ground like an alien fungus, bearing very long, thick, dark green leaves (Auders & Spicer 2012). On the rare occasions side branches are produced those who grow this plant will usually remove them. First recorded by Loudon (1833), ‘Monstrosa’ was cultivated on Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore, Italy in 1898. To 1.5–5 m tall after ten years, staking is presumably required (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Mountain Dew'

A rather attractive, densely branched, upright pyramidal to conical plant with pale green, somewhat yellowish leaves. To 1.8 m tall in ten years. Found by Doug Wills in Oregon before 2004 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Mutabilis'

Young growth golden-yellow, turning pale yellowish green as it matures through the summer. Otherwise typical of the species. Selected before 1867 in Angers, France, by André Leroy (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Norrköping'

Ultimately a medium sized, conical to narrowly pyramidal tree with greenish yellow new growth, darkening through the summer months. It was selected in Sweden (presumably in the city of the same name) before 1988 by Tage Lundell who made many selections of P. abies, including a glut of witches’ brooms. ‘Norrköping’ is one of his finer discoveries!

Pendulous Cultivars

Here we include pendulous sports with a well defined leader and thus capable of forming small trees of at least a few metres tall, even if staking is necessary. Prostrate sports, which could appear somewhat pendulous if staked, are not included here and cannot generally be expected to attain tree-like proportions even with staking. Even to W.J. Bean pendulous forms of Picea abies were ‘A very variable and confused group’ (Bean 1976). Pendulous forms are not uncommon in wild populations throughout the species’s range and multiple clones have been grown under this name, ranging from those with pendulous branchlets only, to clones like ‘Inversa’ where even the first order branches are distinctly pendulous and appressed to the trunk (Bean 1976). The name ‘Pendula’ was originally applied to a tree discovered by Briot in Versailles, France in 1835 (Auders & Spicer 2012) but the continued existence of plants with associated records linking them definitively to this source seems unlikely. Some of the more distinctive clones have been renamed (see below) but trees grown simply as ‘Pendula’ are best considered as belonging to a large and variable horticultural Group. See individual accounts below for further detail.

Picea abies 'Inversa' makes a spectacular tree at Dunira, Perthshire, UK, in May 2015. Image Owen Johnson.

A young Picea abies labelled 'Pendula' in Rochester, NY. 2 August 2009. Image Derek Spicer.

'Pendula'

As mentioned above, the name ‘Pendula’ was originally applied to a clone discovered at Versailles in 1835; a listing in the 1836 catalogue of the Edinburgh firm P. Lawson & Son may or may not refer to the same clone (Auders & Spicer 2012). This name has since been applied to so many other clones as to render it meaningless. We include it here for the purposes of discussion only, and strongly discourage its use. Plants labelled ‘Pendula’ should be renamed Pendula Group.

'Pendula Bohemica'

A plant with with irregularly arranged, downswept first order branches discovered in the Bohemian Forest c. 1910, and later grown at Žehušice, Czechia (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Pendula Harrachii'

A name recorded from the Tharandt Arboretum, Dresden, Germany before 1987, but invalid in Latin form unless it can be proven to have been published prior to 1959. The name was applied there to a tree of strongly weeping habit with a contorted main stem, capable (if staked) of reaching 2 m tall in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Pendula Major'

A plant of upright habit, the first order branches borne downward but then variable, some remaining more or less pendent, others curving to the horizontal or the vertical, with branchlets hanging vertically from them. Raised at the Simon-Louis Frères Nursery, France, prior to 1868 and in commerce more or less continuously since then (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Pendula Major' planted in 1998 at Bedgebury National Pinetum, UK, and 16 m tall in summer 2024. Image Owen Johnson.

'Pendula Monstrosa'

Similar to ‘Pendula Major’ but with more exaggeratedly pendulous first order branches, and the leaves radially arranged on the branchlets (Auders & Spicer 2012). First recorded by Beissner (1909).

'Pendula Variegated'

A selection of pendulous habit with some branchlets bearing entirely green leaves, others entirely yellow, and others and some bearing leaves of each colour. Listed by the Oregon firm Bucholz & Bucholz in 2009, but Auders & Spicer caution that the cultivar name in Latin is invalid as no evidence of publication prior to 1959 has been found (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Pustertal'

A plant of exaggeratedly pendulous habit discovered in Pustertal, South Tyrol, Austria prior to 1978 when it was listed by Günther Horstmann, Germany. If staked the leading shoot may reach 2 m tall in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Schmid's Pendula'

A plant of dense habit and stiff, markedly weeping first order branches listed by the Oregon firm Bucholz & Bucholz in 2009. Of relatively fast growth, to 1.8 m tall in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Perry's Gold'

A rounded to upright-conical plant with new spring growth butter-yellow, turning typical dark green in summer. To 1.2 m tall in ten years. Raised prior to 1995 by Greg Williams in Vermont, United States (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Phylicoides'

A small tree of irregular habit with first order branches very thin, widely spaced and usually deflexed. The leaves are yellowish in their first year, bluish-green later, and are relatively sparsely set on the shoots, making the grey shoots visible from a distance. Recorded from France in 1855 (Krüssmann 1985; Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Pseudoprostrata'

Similar to the dwarf cultivar ‘Procumbens’ but of greater vigour, potentially to 1.4 m across in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Raraflora Weeper'

With determined staking this plant could be grown as a low, pendulous shrub, but we include it here rather than under Pendulous Cultivars, for it is most effective when deployed as ground cover, quickly forming a thin mat up to 3 m across after ten years in optimum condtions. Raised prior to 1999 at the Raraflora Nursery, Pennsylvania, United States (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Reflexa'

A leaderless plant of strongly weeping growth, but even with staking incapable of forming a plant much more than a metre or so tall, and so we do not include it with other Pendulous Cultivars which typically form small trees. W.J. Bean recommended it for ground cover on flat ground or ‘trailing down a bank’ adding that it ‘eventually covers a wide area’ (Bean 1976). Auders & Spicer suggest a spread of up to 1.2 m across after ten years; those authors also note that the branches are ‘impressively thick and stiff with large buds and densely crowded, lush dark green needles’ (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Picea abies 'Reflexa' (RHS Garden Wisley, UK, April 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Picea abies 'Reflexa' (RHS Garden Wisley, UK, April 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

'Rose Ear'

Ultimately a tall, relatively narrow tree of vigorous growth (to 3 m tall in ten years) with the new spring growth pink, turning green after a few weeks. Origin unknown but recorded from Germany before 1990 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Rothenhausii'

A tall, very narrow selection resembling Picea omorika in habit as an established tree. Discovered before 1938 by Prince Hohenlohe-Langenburg at Rothenhaus Castle, Jezeří, Czechia (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Rubra Spicata'

A slow-growing plant typical of the species except for the new spring growth being a ‘deep scarlet red’ (Auders & Spicer 2012). A sport possibly discovered at the Gothenburg Botanic Garden, Sweden, from where propagation material was sent to Tage Lundell before 1973 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Rydal'

Selected by Tage Lundell of Sweden from a witches’ broom he discovered prior to 1993, the young growth in spring is bright red, later turning typical dark green (Auders & Spicer 2012). Despite being selected from a witches’ broom this cultivar does not qualify as a dwarf according to the definition used here, being comfortably capable of exceeding a height of 1.5 m after ten years. A tree at Colsebourne (Gloucestershire, UK) made a shapely tree about 5 m tall in 20 years (J. Grimshaw pers. comm. 2025).

Bright red new growth on Picea abies 'Rydal' makes it a very attractive for a few days in spring (Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, May 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Picea abies 'Rydal' on 4 May 2009. Image Derek Spicer.

'Sherwoodii'

An irregular conical plant, ultimately wider than tall (to 1 m tall and 1.5 m across after ten years), becoming flat-topped and somewhat rugged looking with age. Raised in 1945 by the Sherwood Nurseries of Oregon, United States (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Smultron'

A plant of typical habit though slow-growing and relatively broad. In spring the new spring growth flushes bright red and holds that colour for a while until it slowly fades to a grey-green. In recent years this has become one of the more popular Picea abies cultivars along with similar clones such as ‘Rydal’. Unfortunately it seems likely that these plants will eventually become confused in the trade and in gardens. Ultimate height is often cited by nurseries as about 3 m but it may be considerably more after many years (pers. obs.). Origin unknown but presumably Sweden (smultron is Swedish for wild strawberry, presumably a reference to the colour of the new growth).

Picea abies 'Smultron'. Cherry Tree Arboretum, Shropshire, UK. 11 May 2023. Image Tom Christian.

Picea abies 'Smultron'. Cherry Tree Arboretum, Shropshire, UK. 11 May 2023. Image Tom Christian.

'Summergold'

A low, spreading plant eventually forming a small mat, with leaves golden-yellow through summer, but turning dull green before the following winter. To 1.5 m across after ten years. Recorded from Well’s Nursery, Washington, United States prior to 1996 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Tabuliformis'

A low, spreading plant of moderate vigour, forming a mat to 2 m across in ten years. Given time, it will eventually form mounds and, eventually, become somewhat sub-globose in outline after very many years. Propagated from a witches’ broom discovered in the Trianon Garden at Versailles, France, before 1865 (Krüssmann 1985; Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Viminalis'

A name in use since 1777 for a form first reported from the wild in Sweden in 1741 with an erect trunk, the first order branches stiffly horizontal, bearing strongly pendulous, elongated second-order branches that are almost devoid of laterals. The relatively long leaves are more or less radially arranged on ultimate shoots (Auders & Spicer 2012). Such forms are said to be relatively common in parts of Sweden (Bean 1976) and after so many years it is doubtful whether plants in cultivation still represent a single clone, although they appear quite uniform.

Picea abies 'Viminalis' (labelled P. asperata) at Arboretum Kalmthout, Belgium. March 2014. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

The same tree at Kalmthout in October 2022 (still labelled P. asperata!) Image Tom Christian.

The pendulous, unbranched secondary branches on Picea abies 'Viminalis' on the tree at Kalmthout, Belgium. March 2014. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

'Virgata'

A most unusual plant with very few first order branches, those that exist borne erratically or in irregular whorls, such that the majority of the plant’s energy is invested in the leader. The sparse first-order branches are themselves sparsely branched and become long and snake-like (Auders & Spicer 2012). Plants are arguably at their most outlandish when relatively young, and with age trees begin to take on a somewhat denser habit and the striking architecture is diminished, but even in youth it is, as W.J. Bean curtly observed, ‘no more than a grotesque curiosity’ (Bean 1976). At one time relatively common in gardens, it is now rather rare and confined to specialist collections. The cultivar ‘Monstrosa’ is an extremity whereby there are almost no lateral branches at all, while ‘Cranstonii’ is somewhat intermediate between ‘Monstrosa’ and ‘Virgata’.

Picea abies 'Virgata' in the New York Botanical Garden. October 2013. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

This group of Picea abies 'Virgata' at Bedgebury National Pinetum, Kent, UK planted in 1998 remain better-clad and slightly more ornamental than this old clone eventually becomes. Summer 2024. Image Owen Johnson.

Picea abies 'Virgata' in the Stadsträdgården, Karlstad, Sweden. 28 May 2022. Image Tom Christian.

'An abnormality' said W.J. Bean of Picea abies 'Virgata'. The Stadsträdgården, Karlstad, Sweden. 28 May 2022. Image Tom Christian.

'Weeping Blue'

A strongly pendulous plant which, with determined staking, can be trained into a small tree that might reach 1.8 m tall in ten years, but without such treatment a prostrate mat bearing unusual glaucous leaves. Cultivated in the United States prior to 1990 under the name ‘Glauca Pendula’ but renamed as that cultivar name in Latin form was invalid (Auders & Spicer 2012).