Nice specimen. It's called Picea Orientalis 'Skylands'.

Does it start growing like the regular upright spruce trees at some point instead of all the limbs growing downward? That's what made me think it might be tagged wrong. It looks nothing like the Skylands I saw yesterday at a different garden center.

Thank you!!!! That really helps!!!

Is it a somewhat safe assumption that at 4' tall and 18" wide this particular variety is showing it will be a narrower version?

The ones I saw yesterday looked like yellow Norway's almost... no real weep what so ever and almost as wide at the base as they were tall.

What would you guess the diameter of your biggest one to be Stuart? I really want to get it into its perfect home so it can flourish the rest of my life at least!!!

Hi Tracy, I'm not sure how wide yours will get but I measured my Skyland's 2 years ago (in the 2nd photo) and it was about 8 ft wide. It's probably wider now. I can go and measure the current width of both tree's tomorrow. Both tree's were about 6 ft tall when I planted them and it took several years before they began putting on a lot of upright growth.

Stuart, you don't have to go through all that trouble!!! That tells me that all the info saying 15' wide in ten years is most likely way off lol!!! I've googled tons and found so many varying descriptions!! Your size falls right in line with what could be expected by judging the past years growth. I sure hope this one gets as beautiful as yours are!!!! Thank you so much!!!

I think 15' wide is closer to the 25 year size or older. How big a tree will get will also depend on location, how much sun it gets, etc. A tree that grows 1 ft a year in Oregon may grow half that on the east coast.

where are you ... ive had trouble with them in my z5 MI ...

ken

and i see nothing weeping about the plant in these pix ...

i believe they have one at hidden lakes gardens ... in a perfect micro climate.. that is about 40 feet tall ... and 15 to 20 feet wide .. no clue on its age ... [it can get really irritating. when i have killed 6 of them.. and 15 miles away.. they grow it to perfection .. whats that all about.. lol]

wonder if dax still have his pix of it ...

ken

Ken, I'm a little north of St Louis. We're classified as zone 6 but I still go by zone 5 mostly, to be safe.

It looks weepy to me because all the limbs are growing downward unlike the others I saw for sale that had limbs growing outward from the trunk.

Im trying to learn as much as I can about it because I have other areas I can put it other than the spot I purchased it for.

it should work for your area ...

i think

The tree needs full sun to have it's best yellow color. My location is different than yours but all Skyland's I see that are planted in my neighborhood are in full sun and they do well. Even so my Skylands still burn. To play it safe maybe you can put a screen up to give the tree afternoon shade for the first few years until it establishes?

Stuart's suggestions of full sun and the shade cloth I also recommend. I shaded mine the first 2 years. The wait is worth it. It's a cool tree.

The form on these can vary a little depending on the tendencies of the side branch that they are grafted from. Some also don't realize that they aren't a side branch anymore for quite some time. I've seen ones with upright sky reaching branching structures, to more pendulous branches (Well they all look kind pendulous until the new growth hardens off), and I have even seen a ridiculously narrow and old specimen that was posted on here some years back. Your's is pretty darn weepy, which is pretty cool. The new growth on a lot of my weeping spruces starts off extremely pendulous and then begins to curve more upwards towards the end of summer. The next years growth usually weighs the branches down again. Only time will tell what form it will keep as it ages. Older specimens tend to start reaching more upward.

Please do give us an update on it's progress in a few years. would love to see if it stays strongly pendulous and narrow or if it grows out of this stage. Well, I also simply enjoy seeing any pictures of peoples conifers. =)

Here's mine from yesterday. It should be much taller but it has lost it's leader quite a few times. Possibly due to terminal bud damage from birds perching on it or weevil/insect damage.

Ah, here's a link to that extremely narrow one. Some might find it interesting.

Narrow Skylands

I appreciate all the great information and help!! I checked the Missouri Botanical Gardens and theirs are in full sun out in the open. I read a ton about shading them from afternoon sun for one to two years. Its just so cool looking to me that I want to do everything I can right.

I've created a weird micro climate in my yard so I think this guy will be safe. The house protects the yard from north winds and a huge retaining wall protects it from southern winds then there's a forest on the west side. The neighbors property sits 12-15' higher than my yard with mature trees that have been there 30+ years. I can sit on my porch during most storms and watch their trees bend while mine are gently swaying. Strong tornado winds are about the only thing that really get mine moving and in the past decade I've only lost one limb to weather but it was dead to begin with.

I guess I'll sit here staring at it for a couple more days before deciding its final location.