1332 



PICEA 



PICEA 



of weakness anywhere, being one mass of foliage from 

 the ground upward. The green form of P. pungens is 

 an excellent tree, but is not as much appreciated by 

 planters and lovers of trees as it should be, as it is 

 always compared to its more striking variety, the Blue 

 Spruce. There is a fine specimen growing on the above 

 grounds, even larger than the blue form, which does 

 not suffer in comparison with its near neighbors, Abies 

 concolor, A. Fraseri, P. Engelmanni, Tsuga Cana- 

 densis or Hemlock Spruce, Pseiidotsuga Douglasii or 

 Douglas Spruce, and Pinus 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. Sitchensis of the Pacific coast strongly resembles P. 

 pungens ; 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 

 not stand close planting, as the needles fall off badly 

 where the branches are rubbed together by the wind or 

 strike other objects. 



Without doubt the most graceful and elegant Picea is 

 P. Breweriana, or Weeping Spruce, a native of the 

 Siskiyou and Coast Ranges of mountains in northern 

 California and Oregon. It has the true Spruce form, 

 tall and symmetrical, with horizontal branches and a 

 beautiful dark green color. In its general features 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 

 around than a lead pencil. It has a stately grace in 

 calm weather, but 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 

 beauty 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 where the annual fall of snow is 15-25 ft., as the 

 winter trip of the mail-carrier shows. The cones are 

 from 2.% to 3% in. long, of a purplish color, and as they 

 grow only on the tips of the branches they add greatly 

 to its beauty. Unfortunately this beautiful tree has 

 not proved satisfactory. Out of over 300,000 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 throughout 

 most of North America, is the most rapid grower of any 

 of the Piceas, and stands close planting very well. It is 

 used more than any other tree for wind-breaks and 

 shelter-belts. It bears pruning well. Hedges of this 

 species and P. alba that have been planted more than 

 25 years are growing on the Douglas grounds that are 

 now 6 ft. high and 8 ft. across the base. One fine speci- 

 men tree on these grounds measure's about 52 ft. high 

 and 55 ft. from tip to tip of its lower branches. Other 

 foreign species, but not as well known nor as thoroughly 

 tested as the preceding, are P. obovata, a close, com- 

 pact-growing tree dark green in color. P. Smithiana or 

 P. Morinda is one of the handsomest of the Piceas, but 

 is not hardy in the northern states, plants from seed 

 collected at an elevation of 8,000 ft. on the Himalaya 

 mountains not proving hardy. Fine specimens of this 

 tree are found in California, where it is justly pr;aed. 



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, but 

 this should be used not later than July 1 in the northern 

 states and earlier farther south. They are propagated 

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

 which there are a great number, are either grafted or 

 raised from cuttings over bottom heat. 



THOMAS 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 shaded frame, 

 syringe till danger of 

 wilting is over and 

 harden gradually. Be 

 careful not to keep the 

 earth in the pots too 

 wet, as roots are lia- 

 bletorot. 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. Picea excelsa 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 larga 

 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 hand, fitting the cion exactly 

 with the right. Be careful to wax well, as a hole the 

 size of a pin left on the cut surface will be fatal to the 

 cion. Place the grafted plants in a close frame until 

 the cion is well started. Syringe from two to three 

 times a day, shading when too hot. Give air gradually 

 until well hardened. Do not cut back the stock for one 

 year, as the cion may make second growth and winter- 

 kill. If cion should die, do not use the stock again until 

 after a year's rest, as two consecutive pottings will 

 usually ruin the plant; this holds good only with Tsuga 

 and Picea alba. The above method can be used with 

 equal success on Pinus, Abies, Juniperus and other 

 evergreens propagated by grafting. 33. p DREW. 



INDEX. 

 For names not found here or in the supplementary list, con- 



A. Lvs. quadrangular, all 4 sides with 



stomata. 



B. Scales of cone obovate or orbicu- 

 lar, rounded, closely appressed 

 before ripening. 

 C. Cone 2y<i-6 in. long. 



