About ‘Terrace Heights’: The blue-green needles and Bird’s nest style habit of this Norway spruce cultivar make it perfect for a small display garden or rock garden.
This new miniature Picea abies cultivar was found growing as a mutation on a majestic spruce at Yakima’s Terrace Heights Memorial Park.
Picea abies ‘Terrace Heights’ exhibits an attractive green spring push which contrasts nicely with the older blue-green foliage.
The growth rate of this gem is 1 to 2 inches per year, which is mostly lateral growth. Our mature ‘Terrace Heights’ specimen is 12 inches tall by 24 inches wide.
About Picea abies ‘Franklin Park’: This new miniature Norway spruce cultivar was found growing as a mutation on a full-size tree in Yakima.
Picea abies ‘Franklin Park’
The blue-green needles and upright habit make ‘Franklin Park’ perfect for a small display garden or rock garden.
Picea abies broom spotted buried in a mature tree near the park
The Norway spruce tree with the broom mutation was spotted growing in a neighbor’s yard bordering Franklin Park. The neighbor fortunately also had an interest in conifer cultivars and graciously allowed us to harvest a sample of the broom to graft.
Cute little Norway spruce broom cultivar
This Norway spruce cultivar, ‘Franklin Park’, is miniature and grows 1 to 3 inches per year.
Picea abies ‘Franklin Park’ growing nicely in a display garden
Picea abies ‘Franklin Park is very rare. Only a handful of this cute little Norway spruce cultivar exists. This specimen is about 5 years old.
About Picea engelmannii ‘Mountain Gold’: The Engelmann spruce parent tree was discovered while hiking on a trail in the Cascade Mountains of eastern Washington.
Beautiful new cultivar, Picea engelmannii ‘Mountain Gold’, June 2022A branch from the variegated Picea engelmannii tree in the mountain
We couldn’t believe it! We turned a corner and there it was! A beautiful 20 foot tall variegated Engelmann spruce tree standing on its own just off of the hiking trail!
A close up of a branch from the variegated Engelmann spruce tree found in the wildA new graft of Picea engelmannii ‘Mountain Gold’ showing off its colorAnother grafted Picea engelmannii ‘Mountain Gold’, grafts well
It grafted quite well and actually prefers the sun! Our grafts started growing much better after we moved them from the shade to the sun. There is very little burning of the golden needles. The yellow color intensifies in the sun and becomes quite prominent by June.
This is so far our favorite Engelmann spruce broom cultivar! It is so thick, dense, hardy, and BLUE! And such a striking form! It was harvested the day Mike fell off the ladder and broke his ankle and his foot! Several other specimens derived their names from that fateful day! Including Picea engelmannii ’Big Sky’, Picea pungens ‘Skyfall’, and Pseudotsuga menziesii ‘Knock Out’!
Picea engelmannii ‘Blue Torch’Engelmann spruce broom……becomes ‘Blue Torch’!‘Blue Torch’ growing!What a beauty!‘Blue Torch’ likes living in Michigan!‘Blue Torch’ likes it better in Washington!
About Picea engelmannii ‘Big Sky’: This Engelmann spruce broom was one of 7 specimens discovered and collected in Montana. We found the brooms on a road trip in October 2014 to attend a friend’s wedding. No great vacation is complete without finding at least one broom!
Picea engelmannii ‘Big Sky’ broom
Mike returned in February 2015 to harvest scions.
Picea engelmannii ‘Big Sky’ scions
See all the cute little cones that had fallen from the Engelmann spruce tree on to the ground!
Picea engelmannii ‘Big Sky’ with spring push
The long trip was worth it! 8 years later, Picea engelmannii ‘Big Sky’ is a beautiful little globose cultivar with a nice growth pattern and colorful blue needles!
Picea engelmannii ‘Big Sky’with 6 years growth
Hopefully the new cultivar “Big Sky’ some day will also produce cones like it’s parent!
About Picea glauca ‘Tillie’: This coniferous conifer broom was discovered while visiting Mike’s parents who live in Green Bay, Wisconsin. On a trip to Fleet Farm with his dad, the broom was spotted on a lonely mature White Spruce tree in a field across the street. Of course, Mike insisted on his dad making a U-turn to check it out!
White spruce tree hosting ‘Tillie’ the broom!
It was quite easy to climb the tree, other than the rain, and much to our surprise, the Picea glauca broom hosted copious quantities of cones.
Picea glauca “Tillie’ with numerous cones!
Fortunately, we were able to harvest scions and cones before the tree was removed. This new Picea glauca conifer cultivar was named after Mike’s mom, whose nickname is Tillie.
Tillie’s ‘Tillie’!
A few of the seeds were germinated and produced 4 ‘Tillie’ seedlings, and they were named after her 4 children. After several years of growth, the seedlings from the broom are globose with tight compact growth, and the foliage is somewhat similar to an Alberta spruce.
Tillie and her 4 tykes!
A new Meijer superstore now stands where the lonely tree once stood.
About Picea abies ‘Froghair’: This new miniature Norway spruce cultivar was found in Yakima Washington as a witches broom at the Fisher Golf Course near one of the greens! “Froghair” is the term used to describe the very short fringe of grass around the green. It also means “extremely fine and delicate”, and so we chose the name ‘Froghair’ due to the cultivar’s diminutive size and growth habit, along with the broom’s location on the golf course! Two other brooms were discovered in the same golf course, including one of our favorites, an Abies concolor, ‘Hoop-dee-doo‘!
After at least 7 years of watching the beautiful parent Engelman, pushing bright white new growth each spring, and late fall grafts that failed, we finally figured out a solution! We obtained scions the day before the first big snow fall in late November and refrigerated the scions until late January! So excited to finally see a close up view of the beautiful spring push! 2023!
Spring push!
About Picea engelmannii ‘Whitewater’: This majestic engelmann spruce was discovered towering over a riverbank, and remarkably, it is splashed with creamy white variegated branches. The coloration is intense with spring push and the color fades slightly but not completely throughout the summer. By the following spring, last year’s growth has changed to green, just in time to provide contrast for the beautiful new flush of color!
Picea engelmannii ‘Whitewater’ mature tree sporting beautiful variegated branches!
This mature spruce tree, Picea engelmannii, towers above the lower tree canopy, making it challenging to photograph close ups and to retrieve cuttings! The tree was discovered about 7 years ago.
Finally in November 2020, we were able to retrieve some scions of ‘Whitewater’ during the beginning of the first major mountain snowstorm of the winter season. If we were unsuccessful on harvest day, this beautiful colorful spruce cultivar would have to wait yet another year or more!…..(and it did!)
Picea engelmannii ‘Whitewater’ newly grafted cultivar (this one failed)
We were very hopeful that our grafts would take, since this was not the optimal time to harvest or graft Picea cultivars! (which they didn’t!)
Picea engelmannii ‘Whitewater’ (another one bites the dust!)Picea engelmannii ‘Whitewater’ (and another one that almost made it!)
Picea sitchensis ‘Cliff Hanger’, 3 year old graft, April 2022, lots of buds!Beautiful & healthy scions on this Picea sitchensis broom
Picea sitchensis ‘Cliff Hanger’ is a new cultivar from a very compact Sitka spruce broom that was discovered on a tree that was undermined and hanging on the edge of a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The broom was discovered in late January 2019 during a long weekend vacation in Newport, Oregon. Our vacations always ultimately turn into broom hunting expeditions. We arrived at the hotel at dusk, with just enough time for a quick walk on the beach! And instead of looking at the ocean, Mike was looking at the Sitka spruce trees on the edge of the bluff. Mike spotted a dark blob of dead wood and said “I bet that’s a broom”. Sure enough, the next morning, not only a broom, but a Sitka broom, with beautiful tiny healthy clusters of growth mixed in with the broom’s gnarly dead wood. The owners of the property were delighted and kindly allowed us to harvest some of the branches. They had never noticed the broom (outside of their picture window and deck) before we pointed it out to them! The broom is ancient looking, like it has been growing for many years. There were numerous clustered buds and the growth rate on the broom was less than 1/2 inch. We did not want to spoil the appearance of their newly discovered treasure, and it was quite warm, in the 60’s, so we took only a few scions. The scion wood seemed dry and we were surprised that nearly all of the grafts pushed beautifully! The new cultivar is named Picea sitchensis ‘Cliff Hanger’!
“Is that a broom? Up on the bluff?!”Mike is eagerly harvesting some healthy branches of scion wood on this ancient appearing broomFortunately some of the Sitka spruce broom is still alive and healthy!Picea sitchensis ‘Cliff Hanger’, first push! Picea sitchensis ‘Cliff Hanger’, 2 year old graft, spring push
Picea engelmannii ‘Shrunken Treasure’ is a dwarf Engelmann spruce tree found in the Pacific Northwest. It was first discovered while hiking in the lower elevations of Washington’s Cascade Mountains in 2015! It has not changed much in 4 years, still about 5 feet tall. The area is populated by mostly Pinus contorta and Picea engelmannii with a typical growth rate for the species! During our last visit in early November 2019, we took cuttings for grafting and sent some scions to others. This dwarf Engelmann spruce has pleasing shades of blue and green! Hopefully the scions take, and if so, Picea engelmannii ‘Shrunken Treasure’ will be a beautiful small specimen, especially when part of a landscaped alpine garden.
Picea engelmannii ‘Shrunken Treasure’ September 2015 (left) & over 4 years later, November 2019 (right)!Nice color, small needles and growth pattern on this Engelmann spruce tree found in the wild! ‘Shrunken Treasure’!Picea engelmannii ‘Shrunken Treasure’, a dwarf chance seedling occurring in the wild!
