1332 



PICEA 



of weakness anywhere, beiiif; one mass nf foliage from 

 the Rround upward. Tli. -i. • n i^nn .if P. pungens is 

 an excellent tree, but i- i i u li appreciated by 



planters and lovers of ii. ■ ^ :i n li.iuld be, as it is 

 always compared to its hhii,. viiikiii:j variety, the Blue 

 Spriici'. TiiiiT i^ n tiiu- :^i.i.-.iiiit.-ii Kiowiug on the above 

 grouiMl I m: '■••■■-:' r tiian the blue form, which does 

 not sn!i I Mil with its near neighbors, . I /</> X 



com'../',, I / ,. P. Etujelmanni, Tsuga Viiiin- 



(tenuis 'ir UiUil.,.-.k Spruce, Pseudotsuga Dovglasii or 

 Douglas Spr\n'e, and /'inns Strobus^ all large and fine 

 specimens, equal to any in the middle west. 



Picea nigra, or Black Spruce, is undoubtedly the 

 poorest tree of the genus from a landscape gardener's 

 point of view. It has very short needles and is greatly 

 disfigured by its cones, which hang on for several 

 years. It begins seeding when very young and is an 

 exceedingly slow grower. Some good specimens of it 

 are found, however, in the East, but in very restricted 

 localities. P. rubra, long thought to be a variety of 

 the preceding, is a much better tree in every respect, 

 resembling P. excelsa in color and form. It seems to 

 be a short-lived tree, especially in the West. This tree 

 is undoubtedly the least known of the American Piceas. 

 P. Sitchensix of the Pacific coast strongly resembles P. 

 ptingens; in fact, when the latter was first introduced 

 it was thought to be a variety of P. Sitchensis. It has 

 much finer branches and needles than P. pungens, varies 

 in coloring as much as the latter, and where hardy 

 makes a very fine tree. Unfortunately it is not hardy in 

 any of the northern states. Unlike P. pungens, it will 

 II. >f slan.l I'lose planting, as the needles fall ofE badly 

 wlit-rc till, t. ranches are rubbed together by the wind or 



Witli.iiit doubt the most graceful and elegant Picea is 

 y. Breatriaim, or Weeping Sprimr., a Tintivo of the 

 Siskiyou and Coast Ranges of in.Hniiriiiis in northern 

 California and Oregon. It has tli. tin.- S|.ni.-i. form, 

 tall and symmetrical, with horiz..iital l.iim.-li.s and a 

 beautiful dark green color. In its ^-.n.ivil l.-atures it 

 resembles a well-grown specimen of the Norway Spruce, 

 but its distinguishing beauty is in the long, pliant, 

 pendulous branchlets which hang straight down from 

 the branches to a length of 6 to 8 ft. and no larger 

 eround than a lead pencil. It has a stately grace ill 

 calm weather, biit its characteristic impressiveness is 

 seen only when the long, flexible branches are undulat- 

 ing in a light breeze or streaming before a gale. The 

 bark is smooth and reddish in color, adding to its 

 Ibeauty where glimpses of it can be seen through the 

 green foliage. It grows only at high elevations in its 

 native habitat and on the northern slope of the moun- 

 tains wliPi-H the annual fall of sn..vv is I",-'?.-, ft., as the 



from 'J',. I.. :;',. m. I..M-, ..f :i |,iii|,': 'i ,., ,|,. :,ii,| :is they 



II til.- Il|.s .,]■ II,., l.|,;,i,, ,, ! , :,,:,i liTtatly 



to 





not proved satisfactory. Out of over :;(lll,nil(l seedlings 

 raised in 1893, only one plant is now alive; it is grow- 

 ing on the writer's grounds and is scarcely 6 in. tall, 

 having cost over $100 per inch, and this is doubtless the 

 largest specimen in cultivation. 



Of the foreign Piceas P. excelsa is most popular; 

 in fact is the best known and most largely planted of 

 any of the genus. It makes a large, fine-looking tree, 

 grows in a great variety of soils, is hardy throucrhout 

 mo.stof North America, is the most r.-ipi.l frn.wir of any 

 of the Piceas, and stands close ]il,iiitinf,- \ . rv w.'ll. Ii is 

 used more than any other tree for \\ iii.l In. aks nn.l 

 shelter-belts. It bears pruning well, lliil;;. s i,f ilns 

 species and P. alba that have been planii.l more iliini 

 25 years are growing on the Douglas gnuin.N tliat are 

 now 6 ft. high and 8 ft. across the base, due lin., s|.. .i- 

 men tree on these grounds measures al...nt ,VJ ft. hi-li 



an. I ,-.,-, ff. fnnii tip t.. lip of ils l.nver l.r li.s. Other 



!■ "■"■-'" M i.s. l.ul n.,1 as w, II kn..«-n n..r as lli,,roughly 



J'. Moriiiiia is one of the hands..iii.^t 

 is not hardy in the northern .stat.s, 

 collected at an elevation of 8,U"n ft. 

 mountains not proving hardy, lin. 

 tree are found in California, where ii 



PICEA 



There are several species of Picea from China and 

 Japan that will doubtless prove hardy in the eastern 

 states. All Piceas will stand the pruning knife, l.nt 

 this should be used not later than July 1 in the nortliei-n 

 states and earlier farther south. They are propagated 

 from seed the same as Larix; and their varieties, of 

 wliicji there are a ^'reat number, are either grafted or 

 raised from cuttings over bottom heat. 



Thomjis H. Douglas. 

 Note on the Grafting of Piceas. — In the writer's ex- 

 perience, Picea alba is a good stock on which to graft 

 the finer varieties of Spruce or those having four-sided 

 leaves. Pot the stock 

 the last of August, 

 keep in shade<l frame, 

 syringe till danger of 

 wilting is over and 

 harden graduallj Be 

 careful not to keep the 

 earth in the pots too 

 wet, as roots are ha 

 ble to rot. Place the 

 stocks in greenhouse 

 after light frosts, and 

 graft as soon as roots 

 have started — about 

 last of January gen 

 erally. Do not wait 

 until buds have made 

 much growth, for then 

 the sap will be run 

 ning strongly to the 1795. Piccaexcclsa— Norway Spruce, 

 upper buds, leaving 



the cion to remain dormant. When stock and cion are 

 of same size, the veneer-graft can be used. In large 

 stocks, use slit- or side-graft. Be sure that the knife 

 is sharp enough to shave dry wood. Cut the cion in 

 elongated wedge-shape; place it in the cleft by twist- 

 ing the stock with left liand, fitting the cion exactly 

 with the right. V.< . ..i. [i.I I,. u,i\ well, as a liole tlie 

 size of a pin left .,. ■ • , ' . will I.., fatal to the 



^JmS^i^ 



Pla 



the 



the 



3ll SI 



times a day, shading; v. In u i.... Ii,.i. '■tv ..ir L'r:..lnal 



until well hardened. Do not cut i.;i. i il i, i, i,.-.. 



year, as the cion may make secoin I n 1. ,: ni. 

 kill. If cion should die, do not use 11 , i.n 



after a year's rest, as two conse.-nii,. p.iiiii - \v 

 usually ruin the plant; this holds goml only with 'I'sn 

 and Picea alba. The above method can be used wi 

 equal success on Pinus, Abies, Juniperus and otli 

 evergreens propagated by grafting. e. P. DuEW. 



For names not found here or in the supplementary list, c 

 suit Abies and Tsuga. 



Abies, 5. etatn, 5. Omorika, 1.^. 



acicularis, 14. Ellwangeriana. 5. orientalis, 6. 



actilissima.l. Engehn.inni, 10. Parruana.U. 



Ajanensis, 1.1. excelsa, 4. 5. parviformis. Ij. 



alba. 9. Finedonen.sis. ,'». pendula, .'>, 9. 



^(cocAia)ia, 13. 14. glauca, 9, 10, 11. polita, I. 



alpestris, 5. l.'i. Gregoryana, .'i. procuniliens, 5. 



argentea, 9, 10. 11. llondoensis. 13. pseudopungens, 



aurea. 9. inversa. 5. pumila, .^, 8. 



Barryi, 5. Jezocnsis, 13. pungens, 11. 



pygm»a, ^. 



pyramidalis, 5. 



I'.r.'w.iiaii,,., Ui, .AJKwvelii,.^. rubens.l. 



Cuninh'ii.iis, 'J. ni.,.li.)xiina, 5. rubra, 7, 9. 



( 1,,,nl,n,sil,:,i,..,. :.. M,.|i,,i,,si, 11, 12. Schrenkiana, .1. 



.-.iiiil.,.!. :i, 11. „n„i„i„,5. Sitchensis, 12. 



.•..iiiiiiuiiil.'i, 1(1, H. iHuiiiln.R. Smithiana, 2. 



'■.'iiipa.-t.'i, ,'.. iii.iiisirosa. 5. speciosa, 12. 



...ni.-a, ,".. M'>riii<la, 2. tabul»fonnis, a. 



ilciiiiiliitn. -1. nmri.-ata. 5. Torano.l. 



.lifl'usa. 5. nana, 9. viminalis, 5. 



Doumetti, 8. ingra, 8. virgata, .'», 8. 



dumosa. 5. obovata, 3, 4. viridis, 11. 



A. Lvs. quadrangular, all 4 sides with 



Khvtrmc. 2. 



B. Scales of cone oborate or orl 

 lar, rounded, closely appre 

 before ripening. 

 c. Cone S%-6 in. long. 



