Picea pungens 'Hoopsii' is a great spruce... I have two just for that reason. How are you going to plant this 12' spruce? Looks like it would have a base of at least 6-8' around. It may be difficult to get to the root ball to propertly plant with all the sharp needles hugging the ground. Hoopsii will go from 12' to about 25' in 10 years... in 20 years it'll get to about 35' and so on. How much room do you have on the ground? These aren't something you would want to plant 10' apart... I gave my 'hoopsii' room to grow 25' in diameter at the base which means it'll be around 60' tall.

Ricksample, Please tell me what makes you like Hoopsii??? Can you confirm purple-ish cones?
I am designing this area from scratch so I have room to allow for growth. Do you think it grows more than 12" height per year? MOBOT says grows to 30-50' tall and 15-20' wide. I can take that into account. BTW, I'll have it planted professionally (i.e. by the nursery's strong guys with equipment).

It's one of the bluest spruces available... a powdery light blue. Plus it holds it's color all year... others fade to a more greenish blue color. Mine isn't old enough to produce cones, but from the pictures I've seen they should.

Mine has been growing an average of 8"/year... but was planted in 2011 so that could pick up as it gets itself established. Plus mine is planted in clayish soil... so it's not the best growing environment. I would say 12" is about right.

It won't stop growing... it'll eventually get to 30-50' tall in many years and keep going. Just multiply 1'/year by the number of years your looking at. In 100 years, it'll be 100' tall.

Good to know about the equipment... I wouldn't want to wrestle that by hand =)

10-12ft at Planting!? Wow...I hope you are ready to drop some cash and also make sure you get a 1yr warranty...That is a very large tree to transplant For reference Conifer Kingdom has an 8ft. Hoopsi for $785... They are not rare cultivars, but still will probably be pretty hard to find locally at that size.

This post was edited by SC77 on Wed, Oct 23, 13 at 16:19

I am not only a passionate gardener but also a designer, so I am talking about wholesale nurseries. My local favorite nursery has 8-10' Hoopsii and even 10-12' for less than the price you mention. Of course I have to arrange delivery & planting on top of that!

Anyone have any further input on pros & cons of the other varieties I mentioned? Any experience with the Abies koreana?

Any specific Abies Koreana?... one of my favorites would be Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke'... see link below

If you plant that hoopsii... one of the other 3 plants should be something dark green... perhaps a pine of some sort. That'll really make 'Hoopsii' stand out. I don't know what all you have available at your local nursery... but these 3 would look great together. I know your local place won't have all 3, but it's just to give you an idea

Picea pungens 'Hoopsii'
Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst'
Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke'

You would have your blue spruce, your green and yellow pine and your green and white fir

All the colors & shapes would contrast nicely. I try not to plant to many like plants next to one another.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Rick (?) Thanks! I like comparing design ideas. I am settting up a group of 3 conifers, but one of them (in front of the larger upright ones) for sure will be a Pinus strobus 'Nana' cause I love the softness and texture. That, plus nearby other plants, already provide a "silver" touch, so if I use A. koreana I was thinking straight species for standard soft green-blue foliage. Please suggest some specific cultivars if you don't think straight species works.
I agree to find a group of 3 with nicely contrasting colors, but not too much, I want a subtle thing. Also, yellow-green is not going to work here.
So I could use:
Pinus strobus 'Nana'
Picea 'Hoopsii' or Abies koreana (for purple cones)
Picea glauca 'Densata' (what do you think?)

Purple cones...yes please. This Hoopsii was stressed form the drought of 2012. I could only water so much.

I actually like Hoopsii not only for the color but for the very thick needles as compared to most other pungens.

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Whaas, Thats a killer photo!

I agree with Alley Cat �"àKiller photos! Whaas: Is the color honestly so intense, or does the photo bring it out more? I think I see my answer in the extreme vividness of the grass and background trees. Thanks for the images.

Saturation could be a little high but I could see the cones across the yard so definitely intense otherwise I wouldn't have taken a pic!lol

Keep in mind this is from this past spring, which saw lots and lots of rain this year so thing looked extra bright and healthy to begin with. I can see a Picea orientalis and Pagoda dogwood in the background which flush very bright green.

Thanks!

^ and that photo is why I have 2 =)

I don't have any straight species in my collection... I have all named cultivars. But if you like Abies koreana I say go for it. Most importantly plant what makes you happy. I plant all conifers, my neighbor plants all perennials. Different tastes, nothing is wrong with either.

I'm not sure what Pinus strobus 'Nana' is... but all pinus strobus cultivars have a good texture and softness to them. Have you thought about ones like Pinus strobus 'Angel Falls' or my absolute favorite, it's softer than Pinus strobus and the needles are much longer... Pinus schwerinii 'Wiethorst'. Just another thought =)

You probably can figure out I'm not a conifer aficionado or collector. I am a designer who's interested in something beyond the usually-specified trees, but I have to say, not so esoteric that I can't find it for my client once I've shown them pix and gotten the OK.
I need to be able to find them relatively large, at nurseries in my region. Unfortunately I can't order small size from specialty nursery and be patient til it becomes a feature-size in the landscape. (Except for my own garden!)
I am very appreciative of all your suggestions & info & photos. Hope you don't mind helping out a conifer "amateur"!!! I'll post again to this wonderful, knowledgeable forum if I have conifer needs in the future!