Contents
Spruce Canadian, White or Gray (Picea glauca) is a coniferous tree belonging to the genus Spruce (Picea) from the Pine family (Pinaceae). It is a typical mountain plant native to Canada and northern United States.
Much more than the species Canadian spruce, its numerous varieties are known. They are widespread on all continents, and due to their high decorativeness they are grown even in inappropriate conditions.
Description of Canadian spruce
The species Canadian Spruce is a tall tree up to 15-20 m, with a crown spreading 0,6-1,2 m. Under favorable conditions, the plant can stretch up to 40 m, and the girth of the trunk is 1 m. angle, descend with age, forming a narrow cone.
The needles on the side facing the light are bluish-green, below – bluish-white. It is because of this coloring that Canadian Spruce received other names – Gray or White. The cross section of the needles is rhombic, the length is from 12 to 20 mm. The aroma of needles is similar to blackcurrant.
Flowering occurs in late spring, male cones are yellow or red. Female cones are green at first, brown when ripe, up to 6 cm long, located at the ends of the shoots, cylindrical, rounded at both ends. Black seeds up to 3 mm long with a beige wing 5-8 mm in size remain viable for no more than 4 years.
The bark is scaly and thin, the root system is powerful, spreading in breadth. The species is extremely frost-resistant, but does not tolerate air pollution. Withstands short-term drought, heavy snow and wind. Lives for about 500 years.
Variety of gray spruce
It is believed that in terms of decorativeness, Canadian Spruce is second only to Prickly. Its dwarf varieties, obtained as a result of various mutations, have gained the greatest distribution and fame. An example of the use of generative changes covering the entire plant is the famous Konika.
Thanks to somatic mutations that affect part of the body and are the cause of the emergence of “witch’s brooms”, rounded shapes are distinguished. This is how the cushion variety Echiniformis appeared.
Sometimes the Canadian spruce mutation is prone to reversion when the ornamental properties are not dominant. Then the variety can only be propagated by grafting. In domestic nurseries, they have recently begun to deal with them, so they are not able to saturate the market. Such trees mostly come from abroad and are expensive.
Weeping forms reproduce only by grafting, for example, the very beautiful Pendula variety.
Usually, all varieties of Canadian spruce are considered sissies, requiring protection from the sun not only in hot summers, but also in late winter or spring. This is true and gives a lot of headaches to landscape designers and gardeners. The first should place the Canadian spruce not only so that it decorates the site, but also is under the cover of other plants. The latter are forced to constantly process the tree with epin and carry out sprinkling, but the “ungrateful” culture burns anyway.
The new Sanders Blue variety is not only easier to care for due to its greater sun tolerance than other cultivars, but also features original needles. In spring, it is blue, during the season it changes color to green, and not evenly, but in large areas, which makes it seem that the tree is covered with spots of different colors.
The life span of White Spruce varieties is much shorter than that of the species plant. Even with good care, you should not expect them to decorate the site for longer than 50-60 years.
Canadian spruce Maygold
There are many dwarf varieties derived from a mutation of the most popular – Koniki. It was during the observation of her seedlings that branches or entire trees with deviations from the norm were found. This is how the variety of Canadian spruce Maygold appeared.
A small tree with a pyramidal crown, reaches 10 m by the age of 1, increases by 6-10 cm every season. Canadian Maygold spruce is very similar to the Rainbow End variety.
The main difference is the color of young needles. At Rainbows End, it is creamy white at first, then turns yellow, and then green. The Maygold variety is characterized by golden young needles. Over time, they become dark green. But the color change is uneven. First, the lower part of the Maygold turns green, and only then the changes affect the top.
The needles are dense, short – no longer than 1 cm, cones appear very rarely. The root system is powerful, grows in a horizontal plane.
Spruce glauca Densata
On the market, El Sizaya is represented not only by dwarf varieties. For large and medium-sized plots, public parks and gardens, a variety of Densat discovered in North Dakota (USA) around 1933 is recommended. It is called the Black Hills spruce, and was previously considered a separate species.
Adult Densata (after 30 years) has a height of about 4,5-7 m, sometimes reaching 18 m at home. In Our Country, even with the best care, a tree is unlikely to rise more than 5 m. Densata differs from a species plant:
- smaller sizes;
- dense crown;
- slow growth;
- bright blue-green needles;
- shortened cones.
Unlike other varieties, this one, although it is by no means dwarfed, lives for a long time and can be propagated by seeds.
Canadian spruce Yalako Gold
Dwarf spruce glauka Yalako Gold is a highly decorative variety with a rounded crown. It grows very slowly, reaching a diameter of 10 cm by the age of 40. This variety is very similar to the Canadian Alberta Globe spruce.
But its young needles have a golden color, which looks especially decorative against the background of old bright green needles. Up to 10 years, the crown of Yalako Gold resembles a ball, then it begins to gradually spread to the sides, and by the age of 30 it becomes like a nest 60-80 cm high, up to 1 m wide.
Spruce glauca Laurin
One of the most common mutations of Koniki in European countries is the Laurin variety. It differs from the original form by extremely slow growth – from 1,5 to 2,5 cm per season. By the age of 10, the tree stretches only 40 cm, at 30 years old it does not reach more than 1,5 m. In Our Country, like all varieties of Canadian spruce, it grows even less.
The shoots of Laurin are directed upwards, tightly pressed against each other and have short internodes. Its crown looks narrow even compared to other varieties of conical shape. The needles are green, soft, 5-10 mm long.
The photo of the Canadian spruce Laurin shows how tightly the branches fit together.
SONY DSC
Canadian spruce Piccolo
The dwarf slow-growing variety of Canadian spruce Piccolo reaches 10-80 cm by the age of 100 in Our Country. In Europe, it can stretch up to 1,5 m. Piccolo’s needles are much thicker than those of the original form – Koniki. It is quite tough, young growth is emerald, with age the needles become dark green.
Crown of the correct pyramidal shape. The Piccolo variety, except for the color of the needles, is very similar to Daisy White.
To date, Piccolo is one of the most expensive varieties of gray spruce.
Conclusion
Canadian spruce is a popular species that has produced many interesting varieties. The most famous are dwarf ones, such as Konika and its slow-growing cultivars with a round or conical crown, cream, golden, blue and emerald growth. But medium-sized varieties and rare weeping forms are also of high decorative value.