DWARF ALBERTA  SPRUCE - Picea glauca "Conica"

    One of the most popular shrubs in the nursery industry is the Dwarf Alberta Spruce (Picea glauca "Conica").  Because of its naturally conical shape, this plant is a natural fit for formal settings.  The narrow and upright habit is excellent for framing doorways or punctuating corners of structures.  A very popular use for this plant is container growing due to its naturally compact root system.  It should be noted that this plant looks fabulous with a string of Christmas lights.  The Dwarf Alberta Spruce only grows 4 to 6" in height per year, thus the term "dwarf".   A happy Dwarf Alberta will maintain a perfect shape with no pruning.  The Alberta is also excellent for topiary.  This plant does have the potential to grow quite large in time.  The largest I know of in the area is about 9 feet tall with a lower spread of 5 feet and has been planted in excess of 20 years.  Dwarf Alberta Spruces are acid loving evergreens requiring full sun.

    While it is not usually my intention of condemning a particular plant, the pitfalls of the versatile Dwarf Alberta should be addressed in order to avoid disappointment.  Firstly, this plant is hardy down to Zone 7, meaning that it will tolerate any amount of cold weather, but intense summer heat can lead to its demise.  Another reason for the plant's demise is that  a stressed plant is susceptible to diseases and insects.  Secondly, anytime we permanently plant a shrub in a container, we are asking for miracles and must care for the plant accordingly.

    The two main pathogen issues with Dwarf Alberta spruces are summer infestation of spider mites and needle cast disease.  The spider mites will attack a stressed plant and can kill the plant if left unchecked.  If you notice that your plant is not growing well, place a white sheet of paper under the boughs and bat them.  Dust will always fall onto the paper, but if it moves across the paper then you probably have spider mites.  Needle cast is a fungus which will attack new growth in the spring.  If your plant is growing in a disfigured manner or browning out, you should spray with Daconil fungicide.  Plants which have with a history of needle cast, or are being grown in a stressful situation such as a container should be sprayed at weekly intervals with Daconil in the spring at the first point new growth through the end of this flush of new growth.  Needle cast can take 10 to 12 months to mature, thus the need for preventative measures.

    The container grown plant is extremely dependent upon the grower to maintain an even level of moisture.  In the heat of the summer a container grown plant can dry out in a matter of hours.  Repetitive dryings are very stressful.  Even in the ground, a reasonable monitoring of the moisture level is important because of the compact nature of the root system.

    Remember that a happy plant will not have all of these problems.  For those of you who are strictly organic gardeners, keep up the good cultural measures, as you cannot use the Daconil.  The rest of you guys keep up the good cultural measures to avoid having to use the Daconil.  The Dwarf Alberta Spruce is a wonderful plant and can be maintenance free given the correct environment.  It is the unhappy Alberta that doesn't live long.  See you next week.