Picea glauca ‘Conica December’®

Once the autumn has begun, your garden is ready for winter, and the days get shorter and shorter, this is the time you want to make your home indoors more inviting again. For this reason, Fresh from Nature® also has plants that will thrive indoors. One of these that becomes available in the autumn is our Picea glauca ‘Conica December’®. Also known as the Dwarf Alberta Spruce, this little beautifully shaped conifer can be purchased in a range of sizes from garden centres and florists. Another nice feature is that the plant can also be purchased already decorated with pretty garlands, in ornamental pots or with artificial snow. And, here’s another tip: give the plant a second life by planting it outside in the garden when spring arrives. This requires no green fingers on your part. These mini-trees are such carefree plants that they can be planted anywhere: in the garden as well as in a pot on the balcony or patio.

Care tips

The Dwarf Alberta Spruce gets its name not just from its small size but also from its very slow growth rate. Even when you buy it, the plant is older than you would think. But being as small as it is, you can enjoy it for a long time indoors. Once your Dwarf Alberta Spruce is large enough, you can plant it out in the garden. A Dwarf Alberta Spruce can remain in the garden for generations without becoming overly large. If you plant it out in the garden in the spring, there’s hardly any need to prune it or provide fertiliser. The plant will soon look bushier and fill in any bare spots. If you have had it indoors all winter, it would be a good idea to put it in a shed or garage for a while to let it acclimate to colder temperatures before planting it in the garden in the spring. This little tree reaches a mature height of only around one metre. You could also combine it nicely with flowering groundcovers or bedding plants. Or, put it in a pretty pot on the patio or balcony.

Interesting facts

Don’t grab the top of your Picea ‘Conica December’® with your hands. This is because the natural oil on your skin can have an adverse effect on the plant’s needles. For this reason, always pick it up by holding it from underneath. And make sure that the plant receives enough water since letting it dry out will kill this dwarf conifer. Go ahead and pick a few needles and rub them between your fingers. What do you smell? Right: black currants. By the way, this pine species was discovered growing in its natural habitat in the mountains of Canada in 1904.  Our ‘Conica December’® is a good choice for using as a mini-Christmas tree or as a plant on the balcony or patio. Combine it, for example, with heather or berry plants to create a beautiful little winter scene. Or what about a Dwarf Alberta Spruce as an eye-catcher at your front door? Smaller specimens could even be used as table decorations.