58 THE CULTIVATED EVERGREENS 



a moist sandy loam thoroughly well drained. In native condi- 

 tions spruces appear to be at home on hill and mountain slopes 

 where moisture is abundant but never stagnant. 



Engelmann spruce, Picea Engelmanni, native from British 

 Columbia to New Mexico, is a tree of singular beauty. The 

 strictly pyramidal outline, with the branches closely arranged 

 in circles and maintained to the base, renders it particularly 

 desirable for ornamental grounds. The lower branches are 

 maintained under average conditions from forty to fifty years, 

 and it will probably compare favorably with any other spruce 

 in this respect. As far as the writer's observations are con- 

 cerned, it is very rare for any spruce to maintain all of the 

 lower branches during its entire life, that is, for one hundred 

 years or more in cultivation in the Northeastern States. 



The Colorado spruce, Picea pungens, native throughout 

 parts of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico, is 

 perhaps one of the most popularly planted conifers at the 

 present time. In its juvenile state it is very beautiful, with a 

 dense pyramidal outline, but, unfortunately, in twenty or 

 twenty-five years it begins to lose the lower branches, and 

 usually presents an unhappy appearance. The oldest specimen 

 at Highland Park is about thirty years old, and the lower 

 branches from about one-fourth of the stem have died. 

 Amongst the various forms with glaucous, bluish, and silvery 

 foliage, perhaps the var. Kosteriana with silvery-bluish foliage 

 is the most distinct. The var. glauca pendula has bluish foliage 

 and pendulous branches. This form is so very pendulous that 

 it requires a stout stake when it attains considerable size, to 

 prevent it from tumbling over. The var. compacta, a low bush 

 form, is an excellent plant for decorative gardening in formal 

 conditions. 



The oriental spruce, Picea orientalis, native from the Caucasus 



