Oriental spruce: Reliably Early, Reliably Gold

The world is a crazy place, as evidenced by terrorism in Times Square and Thursday’s bomb scare in Portsmouth, NH. Hey, Portsmouth is practically my own backyard. In turbulent times, is there anything a peace-and-yoga-loving gardener like me can count on?

Well, yes. Each spring, we can enjoy the bright yellow growth tips on Early Gold Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis ‘Early Gold’) a good two weeks earlier than those on the yellow-tipped cultivar ‘Aureospicata’. We grow ‘Early Gold’ in a sunny sloping bed on the west side of our property, sheltered by our neighbor’s purple smokebush hedge on the west and a large stand of 7 foot-tall maiden grass on the north.

I love the feel of Oriental spruce branches. The needles are short, shiny, and round-tipped, making them feel soft to the touch; they don’t prick your fingertips like the needles of Colorado blue spruce (P. pungens.) Oriental spruce doesn’t need babying with fertilizer. Although it grows in moist well-drained soil in my garden, it is somewhat drought tolerant once established.

The only problem we see is white pine weevil, which kills the leader almost annually and deforms the tree. Ugh. Once we identified the problem, which started when our tree was about 3 feet tall, we could deal with it. We just train up a new leader each time the old one succumbs. That keeps the tree shapely. Anyway, would white pine weevil keep us from growing Oriental spruce? No way. We cherish this plant for its yellow spring leaves, and take up the weevil challenge for the glory of growing it.

5 Responses to “Oriental spruce: Reliably Early, Reliably Gold”

1. Robert O says:

   May 9, 2010 at 9:46 pm

   Wow. What a conifer. Where can I get one?

   Reply
   • Penny says:

     May 10, 2010 at 7:55 pm

     Thanks for sending my first comment! I’m pretty sure that Iseli Nursery, a wholesaler, is a supplier of P. ‘Early Gold’ to retail nurseries, so if you’re trying to locate a specimen near you, contact Iseli for names of nurseries in your area that carry their conifers . http://www.iseli-nursery.com/index.htm

     Reply
2. Ana says:

   May 30, 2010 at 7:56 am

   Penny,
   It was fun showing you Ron’s trees. Lots of time and love went into his beautiful landscape. So nice to share it with someone who really appreciates all that went into it.
   Ana

   Reply
   • Penny OSullivan says:

     May 30, 2010 at 4:37 pm

     Ana, Ron’s garden impressed me with its selective tree varieties and their maturity. His tree knowledge is impressive too. I learned a lot from our visit. I can’t wait to return in the fall!

     Reply
3. Mollie Rother says:

   January 15, 2012 at 10:51 am

   Im thankful for the post. Fantastic.

   Reply