Yes it is,,,good catch!

what is the species ?

ron

I'm pretty sure it was Norway. The tree was at least 80' tall.

Whats the deal with these? I've read you can attach these to certain root stocks and make a new plant? I don't know much about these.

Yes, it's a Picea abies.

Grafting are neccesary, if possible in spring.

whats the deal???

the momma tree.. has a steady annual growth rate ... and if you got close to the trunk ... and could read to whorls.. you might find it to be 2 to 3 feet ...

the broom part.. has a much reduced annual growth rate .. hard to tell from the pic... but lets say 6 to 8 inches ...

grafters.. would get and graft pieces of the dwarf ... and propagate it.. to see how it all works out...

this is how we got.. probably almost all .. of our dwarf and mini varieties ....

is that simple enough ... or do you want more info???

ken

......and if you obtained some scion wood from this witch's broom, you too could add to the impossible list of essentially similar cultivars clogging up the catalogs of nurseries everywhere!

(Can you tell, I take a dim view of much of commercial horticulture's obsession with "the newest and the best")?

+oM

What I dislike is when people cut the entire broom down and pose with it like a hunting trophy. Why not leave it to grow on like you would a tree? Take just what you need. Some are decades old. (this is not directed at the thread author, you have a cherished find)

Pinus mugo and picea abies are absolutely saturated for brooms that if the labels were lost no one would be able to tell 95% apart. Therefore hopefully that proportion will remain just as personal finds and not enter the commercial market. There are species that could do with more representation.

And I'd hasten to add, some of what you see me write here is just a cranky, middle-aged horticulturist venting a few of his favorite peeves. I know lots of great people that are way into the "garden conifer" thing, and it can be a great pastime. It's just not quite where I'm at.

+oM

I also recently noticed a dwarf Alberta spruce with what looked like a blue spruce growing out of the side of it. It's in a graveyard and I haven't stopped to take a pic yet. Any of you ever seen or heard of this?

@ken I would love more info. But I have a few specific questions if you wouldn't mind answering:

What part of the broom do you take cuttings from?

what exactly do you mean, (read to whorls)?

The blue spruce growing out of the alberta dwarf will likely be a reversion to the larger species. This happens quite often and is cut out to maintain the small plant.

A 'whorl' is the growth of branches and side branches put out in one season from a bud cluster. In most cases you can see these clearly demarked to count the age of the plant by their number back along the entire branch.

The scions can be taken from this seasons only new growth in around January when the plant is still dormant but not too long before waking (this is decided by your climate location). On a tight broom this new growth may be quite short relatively. You would take several as a safety in numbers method.

Here's a great guide to grafting by Dax Herbst (Gardener365 on here). He's the expert in that field.

Nick , keep asking questions,,,you'll keep getting great answers from these great people.

ron

a dwarf Alberta spruce with what looked like a blue spruce growing out of the side of it.

==>> if this all interests you.. you will need to move away from the common names ...

blue spruce usually means.. Picea pungens ....

DAS is Picea glauca 'conica' ... note the second names are different ... and though they are both spruce ... it is confusing when you use such ...

conica ... has a dwarf or mini growth rate ... one to two inches.. twice a year ... the one you saw.. is most likely.. reverting to the species ... Picea glauca ... and i would call that .. a future telephone pole ... see link ..

i think we are enjoying.. enabling you ... stick around ...

ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=picea+glauca+forest&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIqcWnp43HxwIV0hWSCh3mDwGh&biw=865&bih=745&dpr=0.9

My idea, you don't cut all the broom, but cut 12/15 scion wood for grafting and study some years how he become. If the broom died, you have a material, if no interesting you burn all. Eventually I grafter graft for you.

Nice find Nick!

While there may be many similar cultivars, the only way we find the real gems is to graft and monitor growth patterns, color, shape, ect... Finding brooms doesn't happen every day, finding truly unique ones is even less common.. but you gotta start somewhere!

Even though it might turn out to be nothing "special" in terms of nursery trade, it's still fun to get to find/name and grow a cultivar that no one else has.

P.S - I always feel bad that I can't get the whole broom down! I'm worried someone else with find it as well, and we will end up with the same plant with two different names..... I thought that is why people cut out the whole broom. The other reason I don't take the whole thing, is because I'm still new to grafting, and want the option to go back for more scions if needed.

Quite right, Sc. I didn't intend to come across as strident. BTW, when I grew up, we spent many a family gathering at what was then my grandparent's house. There was a row of very large Norway spruce (trees are still there) along one end of the property and one of these had a very large witches broom-a big old ball way up in the tree. I still remember my grandfather, my dad, and various aunts and uncles speculating on what that this was (is). This one was a real beauty just the way it was-way up almost at the top of what was then probably an 80 ft. spruce. I vaguely remember somebody saying they thought it was probably a bee's hive! Pretty funny. We used to climb those trees and place our red hoodies wherever we ended up. Then we'd go home-not very far away-and look at our red hoodies up in those trees. Stupid kids!

+oM