{"id":6816,"date":"2014-10-16T12:00:20","date_gmt":"2014-10-16T16:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=6816"},"modified":"2014-10-13T11:47:31","modified_gmt":"2014-10-13T15:47:31","slug":"birds-nest-spruce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2014\/10\/16\/birds-nest-spruce\/","title":{"rendered":"Bird’s Nest Spruce"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Picea<\/a>

Picea abies ‘Nidiformis’ at Boone County Arboretum in Kentucky<\/p><\/div>\n

Bird\u2019s nest spruce <\/i>(Picea abies<\/i> \u2018Nidiformis\u2019) is a dwarf cultivar of Norway spruce and is native to northern Europe (USDA hardiness zones 3-7). This slow growing compact shrub will attain 4 feet in height and 5 to 6 feet spread over 15 \u2013 20 years.<\/p>\n

The shrub grows in a round form with a distinctive flat depression or \u201cbird’s nest\u201d cavity on top. Lush, dark green needle foliage has a medium to fine texture and deer\u00a0stay away from\u00a0this sharp needle conifer. Short \u00bd inch long needles\u00a0radiate along the slightly uplifted branches.<\/p>\n

Bird\u2019s nest spruce grows in average acidic, well-drained soil; it is best planted in full sun to partial shade with good air circulation. In the mid-south, this shrub conifer tends to struggle during periods of extreme heat and drought. Best specimens are seen in gardens from northern Virginia and northward and through the Midwest U.S. where summers tend to be less humid and a bit cooler.<\/p>\n

When needles\u00a0 appear pale or off color, feeding spruce and eriophyid mites may be the problems. Pesticide controls are very effective; also\u00a0hosing down the shrub with a coarse spray of water will wash\u00a0away most mites. This naturally dwarf plant rarely requires pruning, other than to remove any damaged, discolored and\/or diseased twigs.<\/p>\n

Bird\u2019s nest spruce <\/i>has year-round appeal. It is frequently included in\u00a0foundation or\u00a0low border plantings. It is exceptionally winter hardy and may be planted in a large container.<\/p>\n

Extra: Picea abies<\/i> \u2018Maxwell\u2019 exhibits a similar form except its top is flat but not depressed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bird\u2019s nest spruce (Picea abies \u2018Nidiformis\u2019) is a dwarf cultivar of Norway spruce and is native to northern Europe (USDA hardiness zones 3-7). This slow growing compact shrub will attain 4 feet in height and 5 to 6 feet spread over 15 \u2013 20 years. The shrub grows in a round form with a distinctive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,299,778,674,806,617,800,604,551,601,630,831,646,7,231,113,655,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6816"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6816"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6829,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6816\/revisions\/6829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}