It is not possible for you to revert it back.

A strange request as many who grow this cultivar want to prevent this.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: A Tree Growing Out of a Tree

Well, you might try the A-Rod testosterone treatment...but, nah, Dave is right. Although you cannot force it to revert, the good news is many will revert, so you have a chance.

tj

i have a dozen variations on the dwarf theme ... and one has reverted back.. and one has sported forward .... [one was conica going back to the species ... the other rainbows end turning into something else]

frankly.. its at the whim of the plant ... and it will take a decade or two to do it ...

and glauca seedlings are a dime a dozen.. at least over here in the states ... i dont know why you would spend money on magical elixirs [hormones or whatever] .... trying to accomplish such.. to make a tree not worth money ..

i can understand the need to try to do it ... but not at the expense of growing a few extra fingers using dna altering products ... if in fact.. that is feasible .... as it is in some other plants ....

ken

"and glauca seedlings are a dime a dozen.. at least over here in the states"

Very hard to find in Britain (and correspondingly expensive). Apart from 'Conica', you just don't see Picea glauca outside of major botanical collections here (which is a great shame).

Resin

You could always do what I did.
Started 10 cuttings and grew them for 25 years. Then two of them had a reversion. Both removed as soon as possible. 20% is the going average.
Both reversions were high on the trunk. What are you going to do then to let the reversion dominate?
I just don't see the point.
Mike

"I just don't see the point"

If you want a 'normal' Picea glauca in Britain without spending a fortune, it's the only realistic way to get one. If I had more space than I do, I'd be strongly tempted to do it myself.

Resin

How about seed starting? I've got a few Picea glaucas from seed, and they grow easily enough. Surely there's some seed shops there that would sell it - Did you search online?

Very surprised it's not common over there - Straight-species Picea glauca are very easy to come by over here. They are a popular windbreak tree in the Great Plains states.

"Very surprised it's not common over there"

It's part climatic (it doesn't do overly well here, succumbing to defoliating aphid infestations in our mild winters), and part self-fulfilling economics - as it isn't native here, few people have heard of it, so no-one except a handful of enthusiasts think about buying it, so nurseries don't sell it, except for the one or two collector-oriented specialists who are prepared to grow individual plants that they then sell at very high prices.

If people want spruces for a shelterbelt here, they plant Picea sitchensis (commonest) or Picea abies.

Picea glauca is much more widely sold further northeast in Europe (Scandinavia, etc) where winters are colder and aphids not a problem.

Resin

when i wrote the above.. i was fully aware that it is native to my continent.. not the other side of the pond..

not seeing the point... dealt with playing around with very harmful chemical procedures ... hoping to cause a reversion ....

i was under the impression.. that conica is rooted .... hence its commonality ...

but i am surprised you couldnt find some grafter over there.. who has them in numbers.. for grafting purposes .... and might be willing to sell and understock.. for a very reasonable price ....

does not joy or any of the german producers not graft onto glauca.. or does it go onto some other picea understock ...

look for Picea glauca .... using the right term.. in searching.. really matters ..

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: go figure

Hi Ken - any grafted specimens here would likely be grafted on Picea sitchensis or P. abies.

Resin

What would these be? (sorry for the awful phone-cam-in-the-rain quality) Among the Xmas tree left overs at a garden center. They are described on the front of a jazzy label as just 'Blue Spruce' and on the flip side as 'Related to Norway Spruce'. I've seen them again in past years amongst the standard festive tree fare.

Picea pungens - From Western North America. Not particularly fond of wet climates, if I'm not mistaken.

Ah, thanks. So 'Blue Spruce' in fact isn't just their descriptive label but the actual species. Very wispy needles but then I see many more of the stouter needled cultivars than the species which are largely if not entirely absent in the UK? Resin?

Weird - Picea pungens is usually a fairly stiff, stout needled conifer. The specific name "pungens" refers to the stiff, prickly needles.

Wonder if that's a different spruce that is just labeled as blue spruce?

Hard to tell without detailed close-ups, and still tricky even then, as spruce seedlings this age don't have fully typical mature foliage yet (particularly if grown in shade). This could account for the foliage not looking as stout as normal for Blue Spruce. But they could even just be more-glaucous-than-normal Norway Spruce seedlings.

Resin

It'll have to remain a mystery until I can get some close-ups. Probably next Yuletide ;)

Thanks Resin & Jimbob