Beautiful tree!

Those selections from Bob are just amazing.

Very nice and healthy specimen. How about some pics of the rest of the place?

I would love to! Nearly 100 conifers on the acre. Unfortunately I'm in Boston for the next 8 weeks. I'll see if I can't get the house sitter to take pictures; she's caring for the trees, specifically the ones in the gritty mix that need to be watered daily minimum in the hot summer. I'm quite worried about my Abies koreana 'Silver Show' with all these 90 degree days and humidity. I also bare rooted it early spring this year to get it into the gritty mix so it's at serious risk.

very nice, Chris!

I've got a SD that must be the same age as yours but it's only got one cone, also at the very top. When it first appeared, about a month ago, it was startlingly bright red. Anyway, the location of your cones is not as unlikely as you think. They tend to form at the topmost regions of the tree in spruce. Actually, there is often a zone of pollen cones at the very top, and a zone of female cones a little bit lower.

Ah you are correct, I don't know why I didn't think of that; Picea always cones towards the top. I think what confused me was that when I got it last year it had 3 cones and all were near the skirt so I guess subconsciously I assumed it didn't apply to this cultivar. Silly me. Thanks!

Absolutely gorgeous; and I said the same thing when the leader coned! I want to keep staking it to cover the ugly trunk of the Pear (ugh I know) behind it. Last year the leader was cone free!

I can't wait until next year when mine will have mostly covered up last years bare branches from the needle drop it experienced last summer from being shipped in near 100 degree weather.

Bob sure came up with a unique one with this didn't he? Very curious to see it in a decade.

I would love to see what Bob's original seedling looks like today.

You shouldn't have to stake this one. I have never had to stake mine the 5 years I've had it. It's been pretty strong at straightening out a leader on its own even if you loose one.

Please do show us more of your yard when ever you get back from Boston or find the time. =)

I've got some stuff on my phone I can put up, hold on, I need a distraction from the calculations.

My favorite Picea abies

Abies koreana 'Silver Show'

Pinus parviflora 'Kinpo'

Newest acquisition, Cedrus atlantica 'Sapphire Nymph' which I will be staking

1 of 2 pushing 'Fireflys'.... love me some Orientalis

'Peve Tijn' pre push

Skylands and co.

'My larger of two 'Silver Seedlings' and a random skylands... 3 on the property I love em

'Tom Thumb' pre-push

'Bruns' which is now triple in size

Smaller 'Silver Seedling'... that silly stake has been removed

Two years ago, Tsuga heterophylla 'Thorsen's Weeping' on the east coast, still going strong past it's second winter. Boxwood are almost a hedge.

Quite old weeping atlas

I have to emphasize these are nearly ALL pre push and now very out of date. Everything put on a good bit this year; it was a mild winter. When I get home Ill post updates.

60+ foot Picea glauca 'pendula'

I really only started collecting about 16 months ago, the older specimens are from when I moved in and did the original landscaping. Missing photos of about 10 cultivars, mostly Picea varieties, especially orientalis, and unfortunately no real shots from this springs push. hope you enjoy! back to my lab work. maybe the I can get the house sitter to send some tomorrow.

Thanks so much for the eye candy. Glad you caught the conifer bug. These forums are what got me started 7 years ago.

I'm jealous of your 'Thorson's Weeping'.

I like the 'Skylands' next to the 'Firefly'. Mother plant with child. Will be neat to see them develop next to each other. =)

Your beautiful Picea orientalis 'Grove' Is 'Spring Grove' a narrow orientalis from Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati OH. Hmm.. I can't remember if I took a photo of the original tree when I visited.

Your Picea gluaca 'Pendula' Iooks to actually be a Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns', hence the two tone silver and green needles. Wow wow wow! That is quite the specimen.

Thanks again.

Excellent, thanks for posting!

Chris, Beautiful Trees! Thanks for sharing. I'd love to see more photos. I never heard of Orientalist 'Grove' but I really like yours.

I agree with Garen, your tree is not Picea glauca 'Pendula', it looks like one of the narrow upright Serbian Spruces such as Picea Omorika 'Pendula'.

My Tsuga heterophylla 'Thorsen's Weeping was doing well until it got infested with Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. All the branches in the front of the tree died last year. I don't plan on removing the tree just yet.

Thanks everyone, took a close look at the foliage many times but will have to again. The thing I'm most excited to see grow in is my 'skylands' grove. The firefly skylands combo are surrounded by 2 other skylands nearby. Much muuuuch more separation between these than that skylands and the firefly. All 3 are in different levels of light and are different shades of chartreuse and yellow, all of them are only ~5-6 ft but doing well

A Skylands grove! That will be beautifully surreal. I just love the feel of those waxy soft orientalis needles.

You could post a close up photo of the tree in question if you wanted a proper ID or if your not labeling them then who cares, It's a cool tree regardless. =)

My favorite Picea abies. Pic taken in winter. Located on the edge of someone's property between Mt Savage & Corriganville, MD in one of the moist hollows -- I'd rough-guess it's near 90' tall:

Wow that is a stunning tree! I have a better angle of mine I think. Yours has decades on mine! Still nice and dense; that's amazing. Oh and that specimen does not have blue on the underside like omorika, and it's grown straight as an arrow for the 25 years I've been alive, way too straight for 'pendula bruns'. It's merely such a dense glauca 'pendula' that the foliage can give impressions of some blue on gray days such as the one where I took that picture. When I get home I'll post a pic of the foliage; I'm a spruce guy I don't think I'd confuse omorika for glauca... I have a non pendula 'bruns' that's a pretty decent size now.

Another favorite P abies at my previous location (Hagerstown, MD) -- younger/smaller, but very dense w/a big cone-crop:

And I agree -- the relatively pale blue/gray-green of some spruces is very handsome, like these white spruces (unknown location):