I like Picea pungens Edith, it you can get ahold of Picea engelmannii Blue Angel from Coenosium (he might offer them according to Will within the last two years) - that's be my first choice. Bob's scions came right from Adrian Bloom's tree in England.

Dax

picea pungens = hoopsi, thomsen, edith [that name might have another derivation like edit with a long E as in edith] ....

concolor = candicans, blue cloak, sherwood blue

those are the brightest.. there are a lot of what i call steel blue ... kinda of a bluish grey ...

ken

'Hoopsii'...readily available in different sizes. Make sure you find one that stays blue clear to the core.

'Edith' equal to 'Hoopsii' but harder to find. More accessible to find in 1 gal./4inch pots but who wants to start there.

'Procumbens' pretty hard to beat also.

In my opinion the bluest of the blue.

Picea pungens 'Blue Horizon'{{gwi:656671}}

Dave

Ken, never mention 'Edit' again, it's 'Edith'.

Dave, that's a very nice flat growing blue Picea pungens.
I've never heard about this cultivar.
Is it always that flat or does it make a leader somethimes?

'Edith' is one of a kind when it comes to the colour, it's the most silvery blue cultivar of Picea pungens in which I'm familiar with.
Another good thing about this one is that it doesn't have to be staked to create a good shape, it will make a straight leader of it's own.
'Hoopsii' is also nice but it's a pain in the ass to create a good form, it must be staked and cut several times for a good shape...

i saw edith, thomsen and hoopsi at gary gees arb ... on the same day.. in the same amount of light.. and as far as i am concerned... only joy could probably tell them apart ...

i have never trimmed any of my 3 hoopsi ... except for leader damage from the darn robins ....

and .. i left out the flexilis ... though not quite eye popping blue.. they are the bluest of the pines ... worthy IMHO ..

OK joy .. on pain of death.. i will not mention edit again ... lol

joy.. you know anything about PICEA PUNGENS 'ENDTZ' .... A 1933 introduction by Endtz of Boskoop, it is insanely blue ranking with Thompson and Salem as one of the best.

ken

Another good upright blue is 'Salem' named by the great Oregon plantsman John Mitsch.Excellent blue color and does not need staking to make a neat pyramidal form. If you'd like to be overwhelmed check out the Picea pungens list @ nullextra.org. Amazing.

P. pungens 'C. Blue' is very blue, although not large growing.
{{gwi:656672}}

If you dont have to have super bright blue I really like Cedrus Deodara 'Karl Fuchs' for a landscape plant. Nice shape, color and form.It is also faster growing than spruces if you want something larger. Dont know about the walnut issue.

David

What is the most blue? Or which is my favoured blue?

I found some blue conifers, mainly Picea pungens. There were blue ones, very blue ones and so blue, thats seemed more white.

My favourite is the Viola of Jerry Morris with a lilac-purple shadow in the blue.
{{gwi:656674}}
A photo of Dax, I guess.

Zsolt

Thanks guys, this focused my catalog browsing. Might have to look a little further than Conesium or Forest Farm for a few. This will be exciting.

Dwarfs are ok. There are three 'in the flower bed' type spots open this spring. Tight conifers are going to be the ticket. I am probably removing a couple Arbs which are outgrowing their spot. Just must decide if blue or mostly green will work there.

Ken, a lot of nurseries selected there own best blue one.
Also the 'Endtz' is found this way, it's a nice blue one but isn't common in the trade anymore.

I found also a very nice and compact blue Picea pungens.
Picea pungens 'Filip's Blue Compact'
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I like Abies lasiocarpa "Compacta"

{{gwi:656677}}

If you would like something bigger.
Very nice and quite hardy is Abies pinsapo "Kelleris"

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Not to forget Abies procera "Glauca"

There are also nice bluish cultivars of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana like "Pembury Blue" and bigger "Triompf van Booskop"

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Worth searching is the Tsuga mertensiana "Glauca" - one of the brightest blue conifers - very rare.

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Here Cedrus atlantica "Glauca" with Abies concolor "Violacea"

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Very nice cultivar of Cupressus arizonica "Carolina" (on the right)

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Sometimes even Pseudotsuga menzeisii var. glauca can have a nice colour

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And mentioned before Cedrus deodara "Karl Fuchs" not as blue as C. atlantica but much hardier:

{{gwi:656693}}

Regards

CedLib

where the heck did cedlib come from ... WELCOME TO GW .... how many more spectacular pix you sitting on out there ... knock us out ...

Abies lasiocarpa "Compacta" .. i have a couple lasio's ... not what a would call BRIGHT blue.. but a very unique blue.. more in line with my steel blue idea ... i highly recommend at least one to every zone appropriate garden ...

no Cham law's in my z5 ... pshaw ...

interpretation of color is so subjective.. i can not emphasize enough.. how important it is to make the road trip to local arbs.. and see them for yourself ... and by local.. i mean anything within a 2 hour.. one way drive... make a day of it... you know.. tank of gas... half a pack of cigarettes.. and your sunglasses ...

it really isnt about it being a shopping trip ... though your wish list will grow ... its about turning off the computer and EXPERIENCING them in person ... in a semi-local environment ....

ken

True. MOBOT is the local choice they are okish for conifers. I first saw Metasequoia Ogon at a newer garden east of KC. So true, seeing in person is worth a million pics.

This May I have a road trip vacation mostly in Ohio planned. Besides Wright Patterson and Canton I planed on a couple botanical garden stops. Was it Dawes and Seacrest....typing from my phone now. I will no doubt come back with a few ideas.

First, not from my gardens, but a plant at Coenosium's, to me the best blue of all conifers:

Abies procera 'Blaue Hexe'.
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And A handful of nice blues from my gardens this last year - though most show the best color in Mid-Summer.

In the strong grey-blue catagory, Abies procera 'Glauca'.
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A very blue Coast Redwood named 'Filoli' after the estate it was discovered at.
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Many Mountain hemlock specimens are very bright, and a couple I have show great 'blue' potential.

Tsuga mertensiana 'Bump's Blue'
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Tsuga mertensiana 'Mt. Arrowhead'
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-Will

Sequoia sempervirens mount loma Prieta spike weeping form
I got with very glaucous foliage.

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Euan, please write this weeping beauty in the right way, it's Sequoia sempervirens 'Mt. Loma Prieta Spike'.
Use the capital marks and apostrophes as well and make it not a long row of names...

One of my favourites

Abies lasiocarpa 'Compacta'
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coniferjoy, thanks for your comment :
"'Hoopsii' is also nice but it's a pain in the ass to create a good form, it must be staked and cut several times for a good shape..."
I have a 10 yr old Hoopsi which is only lingering along, only 3 ft tall after several prunings, but is beautifully light blue, so I might keep it even in semi-shade.

I have this P.pungens 'Glauca Procumbens' which I do not like having it run around, so I am staking it for a while :

{{gwi:656710}}

Above picture is in early spring last year, new growth is a nice blue.
Bernd

I started this blue Chamaecyparis lawsoniana from a cutting I got while driving around Seattle. Don't know the variety. Could be 'Pembury Blue', mentioned above.
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Picture taken Oct., 2009.
The yellow trees are Cryptomeria j., 'Sekkan'

Edwin you need to come down from your high horse.

What's up Euan?
I asked you nicely to write the conifers names in the right way.
What's wrong with that?

Hello Edwin

The name sequoia sempervirens 'Mount Loma Prieta Spike'
as I did a google search.Yes conifer names should be
spelt correctly everyone will come round to correct
names soon.

Ok its Mt Loma Prieta Spike but needs to go back to
the original name.The plant will probibly run under
two names.

I'm not new to the forum but was only a looker,but after reading the comment from blue yew had to jump in.
In my opinion if it is not for people like Edwin, there would be a lot of new plants in the conifer world.
It is like a snow ball effect, the spelling mistakes get bigger and bigger everytime someone does not copy the name right.
Keep up the good work Edwin.
I will be in Holland this Sept. Maybe we will get to visit.

"Blue Ice" Arizona Cypress is a better blue than the Carolina Sapphire shown. I'm growing both, and the "Blue Ice" really sets the standard for blue of those 2 conifers. It also has a stronger genetic tendency for a dominant single leader than Carolina Sapphire and is reputed to be the most cold-hardy of the Arizona Cypress. Also have some wild ones that give "Blue Ice" a run for the money, so to speak, but at best they merely tie it.

botann, that's a nice blue Chamaecyparis lawsoniana!

crank it down ya bunch of rednecks! ;)

Another part of the story is this: Google from what Zsolt told me a while ago scans the internet and when it finds photos with a name above it, it will mostly-likely keep that photo buttttt, only if there are none-apostrophes involved. Big problem!

I agree though, a name should be properly written, and my solution is to provide the name correctly first as seen below:

Pinus koraiensis 'Anna'
Pinus koraiensis Anna
{{gwi:656714}}

Pinus koraiensis 'Anna'
Pinus koraiensis Anna
{{gwi:656716}}

This looks dumb and will cause confustration . Scratch that.

Dax

Thanks for your nice comment Alpinelover.
Where do you come from, this info isn't availlable your "my page"?
Of course you're welcome to visit my nursery in September.

Dax, that Pinus koraiensis 'Anna' is a beauty!
Do you have the background info about this one?

Hi Edwin, that tree is growing on the property of the late Chub Harper. It was a seedling selection that Chub named for his (late) wife, Anna Harper.

Dax

Blues.....aahhhh one of my two favorite subjects. All of my garden are either blues, or two-tone spring flushing color extravaganzas.

Since you said the bigger the better, I'm not going to spend time on globes or prostrates ( and some really good ones have already been mentioned ). I'll just stay with the big guys.

For spruces the bluest Picea in most minds is Hoopsi. And that is probably true. But as said above on more than one occasion, trunk issues are a hassle. Nurseries tend to shear them into pretty trees, but when you look inside the cover, the trunks are usually bent. So unless you are able to hand pick it yourself, another one you might want to consider is Bakeri. I think this tree is underutilized. It is just as bright a blue as Hoopsi but more compact, columner, and straighter for sure. One other honorable mention would be Bizon Blue. Bizon Nursery developed this tree and while its defintitely not as bright a blue - more of a steel blue - it has served me very well in tough growing conditions. Tight conical shape....very Christmas tree like. It's a pretty tree.

Another family I love are the Cedars......I have many many deodaras. I love the wispy branches swaying in the breeze. And by far the bluest varietal, in fact maybe the bluest conifer on the planet is Sander's Blue. It is almost a glowing powder blue and holds that color year around except during the worst and coldest parts of the year when it dulls down some. But it's a gorgeous blue.

I'm also really liking the blue irridesence of Juniperus scopulorum 'Medora'. It gets large but stays compact, very column shaped but at the same time a little unkept looking which I like, and it's an unusual steel blue.

Lastly I have to mention a small guy. It was mentioned above but deserves it again.....Abies procera 'Blaue Hexe'. Never have I seen such an irridesence in a plant. In the spring to summer time it has almost a glow about it when the sun hits it you really can't describe or capture well in a picture. Its the way the silvers work with the blues I think. But it's a gorgeous dwarf plant.

mark

Blue stuff:
Picea pungens 'Salem'
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Picea mariana 'Blue Tier Drop'
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Picea pungens 'Sesters Dwarf'
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Picea pungens 'Montgomery'
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Abies numidica 'Glauca'
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Nice pics John!
I never saw such a big Picea mariana 'Blue Tier Drop'.
Were did you take these pics and are these all stock plants for grafting?
Please change 'Mongomery' in 'R.H. Montgomery'.
Thanks!

Thanks,even for the correction. These photos are from my nursery.Except for A.numidica'Glauca'is at home.Although I do a little cutting propagation,I don't graft.Took some grafting classes at the Arnold, but i'm not set up for it yet. It's one of my goals though.As soon as I get enough cash to build myself a grafing house I'll be at it.So basically all the plants shown are for resale. Mostly I use them myself on private landscapes.
john

I am not sure who changed it but the Picea mariana is 'Blue Teardrop' to reflect the shape of a giant teardrop. Tier is incorrect.

Bob

Thanks Bob, I've seen it listed both ways and suspected I might be corrected. Tier is how I bought it but Tear makes more sense.
john

Hi John,

The 'Blue Teardrop' was a sport on mariana 'Nana' and it requires no work to grow nice, identical specimens. There are some around but I think in the future there will be a lot of them around.

It looks like you are growing a nice selection of specimen conifers, which should position you to be a source for unique landscape plants. In this day and age we all need something to make us standout from the crowd.

Bob

The photo response has been better than I hoped! Now I must narrow down my list. Perhaps I will let fate decide based on what I can find. End of the month is the latest I ever order for spring.

Picea mariana 'Teardrop' is a bit more green than I was thinkng but gives me an idea for contrast.

Picea mariana 'Blue Teardrop' in garden setting. A little blue but not much of a factor. A nice tight growing cultivar. Good specimen plant. I have had this one 4 years.

I now am a little confused on the cultivar spelling. I see it at least spelled 4 different ways. What's going on?

Dave

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Foliage

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Hi Dave,

People just messing with the name or people who can't spell. Since I discovered, introduced, and named it, you can consider 'Blue Teardrop' as the correct name.

It is nice to see that it is "getting around".

Bob