Atrovirens Oriental Spruce

Name: Atrovirens Oriental Spruce
Brand: Monrovia
SKU: 06481

Picea orientalis 'Atrovirens'

Pronunciation: PY-see-a or-ee-en-TAY-liss

SKU #06481

USDA Zone

2-8

Your climate might be too cold for this plant:

OVERVIEW
Description	This truly elegant conifer has exceptionally dark green, shiny needles that adorn the pyramidal form with dense, pendulous branching from the ground up. One of the last spruces to break bud in spring. An excellent specimen tree. Produces showy female cones that have a lovely purplish coloring before maturing to brown. Evergreen.
Light	Full sun, Partial sun
Watering	Water when top 2 inches of soil is dry.
Blooms	Conifer; prized for foliage.
Mature Size	Moderate growing; reaches 60 to 80 ft. tall, 20 to 30 ft. wide.

DETAILS
Deciduous/Evergreen	Evergreen
Special Features	Easy Care, Showy Fruit, Waterwise, Benefits Birds
Growth Rate	Moderate
Growth Habit	Pyramidal

STYLE
Landscape Use	Privacy Screen, Windbreak
Design Ideas	This is a rare dark, rich-green Spruce that is remarkably beautiful when planted in groves. As a single specimen, its purplish cones stand out like berries. Excellent choice in lawns or use columnar form to flank driveway entries or access roads. Contrast groups of dark-green Spruce with blue-tinted evergreens.
Foliage Color	Green
Companion Plants	Beech (Fagus); Flowering Dogwood (Cornus); Weigela (Weigela); Variegated English Holly (Ilex aquifolium); Sedge (Carex); Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum)

CARE
Care	Grows easily in moist, slightly acidic, loose, sandy or gravelly loam to fine clay soils. Water deeply, regularly during first few growing seasons to establish an extensive root system; once established, tolerates drier soils. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring.

HISTORY
Lore	The genus was named from the Latin for pitch, a sugar rich gum extracted from spruce trees. It was brewed into beer and even used as chewing gum by Native Americans, then settlers and was a valuable commodity in ancient Europe.

This Plant's Growing Zones: 2-8