Picea pungens hoopsii

Beautiful Janey, I love them and "Blue Spruce" will be impressed!

I adore blue conifers. This one will survive the snow for sure Janey. Is it very slow growing? That's what always puts me off them. That and the prices!

Looks a really lovely specimen, Janey. Something to cheer up these grey days!

I love these janey....My brother has one sitting in the middle of his large border and its stunning....Dont think this was on the 'sick shelf' janey...lol

I agree Dawn, a fantastic colour......I bet Bluespruce will like, if he has a break from grafting in his shed......:o)

Thats good news Karen, it'll grow about 1ft a year, so not too slow, and there are so many different types, all beauties in their own way......

Thanks Sheila, can't wait to get it planted and on it's way....:o)

That is where I think I'll position this Moti....it'll look great in winter.....and you're right, I did look on the sick shelf, there was one half price, but had a few brown branches....and I thought if I'm going to splash out, may as well go the whole hog...Lol!

It's lovely and love the colour too.

bin trying to find a blue 4 ages here , yours is lovely ........ ;o)))))

Thanks Sixpence and Cristina.....have you looked at Bluespruces photos Cristina...he has an amazing collection of conifers, including other types of this one...have a look at the pic Two Bluespruces.

:o)) Your welcome Janey

Don't have a grafting shed Jane, just an old decrepit lean -to type structure on the back of the house lol!! xx

Don't believe you Spruce, everything you have is perfect!

Ha..ha...bet its an amazing summerhouse really....

Yours is perfect too Dawn, your "pond" turned out to be a huge lake!....lol.

will do janey ........... going now

Beautiful conifer, Janey. Don't forget to show us when it's in situ :)

Lol Janey. Since the bulrush clear out, the pond is no bigger, just looks it.

Bit of a mouthful, but still a lovely blue fir.

It's a spruce Theoldgunner, not a fir! :o) lol!!

I know what you mean Tog...Blue told me off the first week I was on here for the same mistake....Lol! Nice to see you smiling Blue....:o))

It's all light hearted stuff Jane...as I'm sure you know :o)) x

Of course Master Bluespruce san...:o)) Had my first T'ai Chi lesson yesterday...don't think I'll be digging for a while...aagh! :o))) X

Mind how you go Jane ;o) x

This is such a beautiful colour, we used to grow several different conifers in the midlands, I love them all.

They are very hardy Janey, I have one in my front g.arden lol it is bent now I cant remember what happened but someone lol pruned it !! it still looks good though and it does have a lovely colour and the corms are lovely too

That's lovely, Janey...
I like the colour ..:o)

... do the branches feel soft or are they prickly ?

Thanks Dd and Maggy, the colour is really bright, its gorgeous...:o)
They're inbetween Tt....stiff but not too prickly, it has made a difference in the garden...:o)

... and such a nice name ..hoopsii... lol. :o)

wow love it janey and see steven has seen it already lol,
how tall does it grow please :o)

Lol San.....it is a slowish grower and will reach 15m eventually, but not when I'm around....:o( Probably about 4m in 10 years.

I love this Janey ,it's a beautiful colour sounds perfect for our winter weather , we have to think seriously about change when we have been losing so many shrubs ....

Got to remember girls, it's still not the easiest conifer to grow..will need some work! lol :o)

That's right Amy, I'm hoping it won't mind the enclosed garden too much...fingers crossed...:o)

iv seen a lovely conifer in a garden on the way to work janey, i must take a pic, im sure steven will name it for me, infact im going to look at yours steven and see if i can spot one lol

I'm sure he will San....not sure what the extra work will be in growing them though....in his last comment...:o(( There is a smashing one in the grounds of my work, not the Hoopsii though, more of a weeping type.

Jane, the cultivar 'Hoopsii' although one of the brightest blue pungens around can be a pain to get it to grow upright and make a nice uniform plant, especially in it's early years. So leader training and selective side branch prunning are essential until well established over a period of up to several years. Also very susceptible to red spider mite infestations, which can completely defoliate a plant if left unchecked!

Thanks Blue, that's good info to have.....it'll be interesting to care for, and see develop, being such a slow grower. Must get a spray for the red spider mite, just in case...:o)

Slow grower as in at least a foot + per year once it's got it's feet into the ground, and the problem with red spider is, it's usually to late by the time you notice a problem, so preventative spraying is the best policy, plus you can also give it a spray with water useing a hosepipe with a lance attachment every so often, as humid conditions does go someway to deter these mites.

spellcheck!! too!

It'll be in quite a warm, sunny and sheltered spot come Summer, so will keep the humidity up. A foot plus isn't too slow is it? I had another look at it before and it does need a longer stake, it's leaning to the left....a little like me then....:o).

Spellcheck?? Have I spelt it wrong.....????

No Jane, I put to instead of too!! in my post ;o) xx

Just looking at the photo again Jane, you will need to select one of those two leaders at the top of the plant and stake that! whichever you think is likely to be the strongest and most suitable, then remove the other one!