Dwarf Alberta Spruce
Dwarf Alberta Spruce is an awesome little evergreen that stays small and only grows a few inches per year. Yes, they can get five or six feet tall, but it takes a long time and with one annual pruning you can keep them to the size you want.
This is plant that I have been telling Our Members about for years because it is in great demand and always will be in great demand. Dwarf Alberta Spruce is hardy in zones 2 through 8, which gives it a very wide appeal all across the U.S. and other countries as well. For the most part it is hardy and tough as nails, but there is one pest that tends to attack it, and that is spider mites. However spider mites like it hot and dry so if you simply blast the branches of your Dwarf Alberta once a month or so in hot weather you can probably keep the spider mites at bay, or at least controllable at bay.
The Dwarf Alberta Spruce Story.
How to Propagate, or Grow Dwarf Alberta Spruce from Cuttings.
In this article I am going to combine my “personal” Dwarf Alberta Spruce” story with information about propagating, caring for and selling Dwarf Alberta Spruce.
Many of the photos that you see on this page are compliments of one of Our Members and Friend Roger Higgins. These are Dwarf Alberta Spruce cuttings that Roger is getting ready to root.
My “personal” Dwarf Alberta Spruce story is very instructive and it is the reason you are reading this article today. Way back in 1989 I decided to plant a few plants in my backyard, things that I could grow for a while and later sell for more than I paid for them. I was doing this as more of an investment than I was “starting a backyard nursery”.
So the very first thing that I bought was 1,000 Rhododendron rooted cuttings for one dollar each. Later that summer I ordered 1,000 Dwarf Alberta Spruce, also for one dollar each. I planted all of these in my backyard in beds, 8″ on center. You can see that here. I chose Rhododendrons and Dwarf Alberta Spruce because they are both fairly slow growing and in my mind that meant that they would always be in demand. I was right then and that’s still true today.
In this photo Roger is showing us how he does not cut the cuttings to remove them from the parent plant but instead tears them from the parent plant, much the Same Way that I Do Arborvitae Cuttings. That leaves a heel as he is indicating in this photo.
Leaving the heel on the cutting actually creates a larger surface of “wounded area” and just like human beings, when plants are wounded they try and heal themselves by building callous over the wound, then new roots.
Keep in mind as you study this process. Way back in 1989 when I ordered Dwarf Alberta Spruce rooted cuttings from a wholesale grower I didn’t bat an eye a buck a piece and I ordered 1,000 of them! That’s what I mean about the market for these plants. Each little cutting was worth one dollar in 1989. I’m assuming they charge $1.50 or more today, maybe $2.50. I haven’t checked lately.
Something Terrible Happened to My Rooted Cuttings!
My late mother-in-law was a wonderful, wonderful person. Great mom, awesome grandmother to the kids. But she was hardwired to be a bit of a negative thinker. And when I decided to pretty much bury $2,000 in the backyard she thought for sure that I was crazy. My father-in-law on the other hand, who is still with us, is very different, and has always been supportive and helpful. He when he himself would never risk $2,000 on such a crazy idea that didn’t stop him from coming over and helping me, Pam and the boys plant those 1,000 Dwarf Alberta trees in the backyard.
So as we were planting these little tiny rooted cuttings my mother-in-law was firing off the questions becoming more and more convinced that I was making a huge mistake. Maybe even hoping it would go bad, because that’s how people are. You need to know that. Not everybody is pulling for you. It’s human nature, many people are secretly hoping you do not succeed.
The rooted cuttings that I bought were just like the ones that Roger is showing here, except mine had roots. Not enough roots, but they did have roots. I kept them watered for the rest of the summer and come winter I figured they’d be fine until spring.
Mother Nature let me know who’s really in charge.
Over the winter as the ground froze and thawed and froze again, that action pushed a bunch of my little tiny plants up out of the ground. It’s called heaving. I didn’t see it coming, didn’t know to check for it, and by the time I noticed it was too late. I lost 250 of the 1,000 plants that I bought.
250 Bucks Out the Window Right?
Oh boy, not only did I lose my money, but I knew that when my mother-in-law found . . . well, you know. Sure enough she found out and she wanted to know how many I lost. And that’s when I had a huge revelation that I now teach to Our Members on a regular basis. When she asked how many died I said to her;
“I don’t know how many died. I’m in the live plant business, I only count live plants.”
And from that day on I never lose sleep over plants that don’t make it. I just trudge ahead focusing on the ones that do. Yes, I lost 250 plants that I paid one dollar each for. But if you do the arithmetic I still had 750 live plants and since my investment in those plants was still $1,000, that now meant that my investment in each of my 750 live plants was now $1.35 each. Still a pretty good bargain.
Roger sticks his cuttings in dish pans that he buys at the dollar store. He drills holes in the bottom for drainage, fills them with said and sticks the cuttings and then Places them in his Propagation Area Using the Same System I Use. He does this with Dwarf Alberta Spruce in mid July or early August. A few weeks later than most flowering shrubs. They are slower to root than many other shrubs, but they are all rooted before winter.
Even if you don’t have the automated system that Roger and I use, you can still root cuttings in the summer, This is How You Do It.
After I lost 250 of my 1,000 plants the rest thrived. I kept them trimmed as they grew because if you don’t trim Dwarf Alberta Spruce they tend to grow low and wide like a Hershey Kiss. And nobody wants a short, fat Dwarf Alberta. They want them tall and slender. As with most other evergreens you have to watch to make sure they don’t develop a “double leader”. There should only be a single leader growing out of the top of the plant, not two or three. You have to select the strongest, straightest one and remove the others as soon as they appear. That’s really important!
Once rooted Roger’s plants look healthy and vibrant don’t they?
Once mine plants were about 12″ tall a local grower friend of mine that knew I was growing them asked me what I wanted for them. He needed 300 of them and said he’s bring his guys over and dig them bare root, take them back to the nursery and pot them up. I told him $4.00 each.
He liked that price and wrote me a check for $1,200.
Are you keeping up with the arithmetic?
I paid $1,000 for the 750 plants that survived. I just sold 300 of them for $1,200. Even though I managed to kill 250 of my young plants right out of the gate I sold 300 of my 750 for $1,200! I was now $200 to the good and I still had 450 plants.
I sold another 300 of my Dwarf Alberta Spruce to another grower for the same price, $4.00. That’s another $1,200! I was now $1,400 to the good on deal that started out a bit shaky.
The remaining 150 plants that I had left I sold at my retail plant sales for prices that ranged from $12.00 for the smaller ones to $25.00 for the really nice ones. At that point I lost track of my total profit but if I averaged just $12 for the ones that I sold retail that’s another $1,800 added to the $1,400 that I had already earned.
That’s a lot of money for some guy growing small plants in his backyard yard! And of course I also had the 1,000 Rhododendron and I did manage to kill some of those as well, but by then I had added 500 Japanese Red Maples and the rest is history. The Rest of My Story.
A few years ago I ran into a local grower who was looking for one gallon Dwarf Alberta Spruce and he could not find them anywhere. He had called all over the country! Knowing how large their business is and how they buy, I’m guessing he wanted at least 10,000 if not more. And I talk about that in my One Gallon Plant Conspiracy Story.
I want to Thank Roger Higgins of Roger’s Backyard Nursery in Cranesville, Pennsylvania for the use of his photos in this article. Roger and his wife are great people and two of the most loved members we have. Roger is always willing to help out a Fellow Member and his wife Venice is equally wonderful. They have been to my nursery many times, they’ve been to Our Annual Backyard Growers Shindig too many times to count. I’m happy to count them among my friends!
If you are near them Check out their Facebook Page. Opening Day is April 30th, 2016!
Questions or comments? Post them below.
Mike, can nest and Alberta be rooted in winter on a heated bed? Missed the window over summer and figured that I might try to stick some before Xmas.
Thanks
Dean,
Over bottom heat, yes that should work.
Mike, how long do you keep the bottom heat on?
Lars,
Until the cuttings are rooted. If you can keep the soil warm enough they should root in 6 to 8 weeks. They can also be done in the summer without bottom heat because you would be working with softer wood.
Mike, how cold can the air be when using bottom heat and still have success?
Lars,
I guess the air can be as cold as it gets in your area. The challenge is keeping the rooting medium at 69 F. if the air is super cold.
Mike, one more question. When rooting cuttings in winter (nesting spruce or some other evergreen), do the cuttings require light or is a mix of heat and moisture enough?
Lars,
Dormant plants really don’t require light since there is no photosynthesis going on. However, as soon as they start to break dormancy they will need light. And with evergreens I’d be more comfortable if they did receive light even while dormant.
Mike,
I’m just starting to grow in my backyard [mostly onion, garlic, and peppers so far]. But I also have a severely rootbound potted Blue Spruce [at least that’s what the Sears tag said 30+ years ago] I can send a photo if useful.
It has a nice symetrical ~2-3 foot top [crown?] with plenty of new growth now that it gets sun and about 5-feet of sparse and spindly trunk underneath; it [unavoidably] survived for years in a pretty low light spot.
Mostly for sentimental reasons I want to cut off & try to propagate that crown along with as much of the trunk as is needed, as well as to cut off & discard the main trunk at pot level and to re-pot a 2-foot ‘runner?’ that grows up alongside the main trunk [they have a common rootball as far as I can tell].
If any of this makes sense, any ideas as to:
– what to plant the crown in [sand, soil, …] read some of your stuff on frames and sand for evergreen cuttings.
– time of year to do this [just North of San Francisco, CA] we have frosts, but not like PA.
– any other considerations I may not know enough to ask about?
Dennis,
Blue spruce don’t typically do well as cuttings but you can try. Use sand, see this; http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/01/easy-summertime-plant-propagation-techniques-can-home/
Mike, will this technique (rooting) work with firs (Abies spp.)?
Roart,
Probably, but most conifers are grown from seed so there has to be a reason for that.
My Alberta dwarf spruce turned red this winter. Only some branches are green. Will they come back or not? Thx
Joanne,
Probably not, I’d remove it.
My dwarf alberta spruce has drooping lower branches this spring. Perhaps the snow load led to this problem. Will these branches naturally return to their more upright shape or do they need to be tied up to retrain them?
Dan,
I think they should pop back up. Tying would be difficult without making the tree look funny.
Hi Mike,
I have a question, How to you trim the tops of these shrubs/trees without damaging the tree, I have trimmed some libs off of some of my other ones only to have them not come back, so some of my trees are baron on 1 side of them. The tree that I’m asking about is almost a foot and a half taller than the other ones and I would like to get them all to the same height. I don’t want to damage the tree. Any suggestions.
James,
That would be difficult to do. You can cut very little off of a dwarf alberta. Once you expose that dead wood inside it may not recover as you’ve experienced.
Hi Mike,
Is early September too late to start my cuttings? I live in Northern Virginia — Thank you. Karen
Karen,
For Dwarf Alberta Spruce without http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/mikes-plant-propagation-kit/, I’d say it is. June is the best time to do them. This late in the year they would likely need bottom heat.
Very fun post Mike, Thanks.
I’ve grown a pile of Colorado Blue Spruce from Seed, later learning they are usually proped by cutting as seedlings can range in hue so the deal is, find a nice mother and take cuttings.
I also prop my Western Red Cedars this way as well. Root slow but well. Common Yew too.
Thanks for the read. Have to try the Alberta Spruce for sure. Leylandi is a good one as well. Waiting..
Cheers, C
How can I get some of these Dwarf Spruce to root?
Mary,
Do them in July using one of these methods, http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/01/easy-summertime-plant-propagation-techniques-can-home/
HI Mike, I have a Nellie R. Stevens Holly Tree. The bottom is nice and full, the top growth is bare then leafs out again at the top. Should I prune the top or will it fill in?
Lindale,
That’s a difficult question but without seeing the plant I’m thinking it might be better if you do prune it and then shape it as it grows.
How come you can take cuttings from a Dwarf Spruce and they stay small but it doesn’t work with other dwarf trees? I took cuttings just for a lark from my dwarf Gala apple tree, and they rooted and have leaves. However, i have to assume they’re going to grow into a standard Gala. I have no idea. I know exactly what the tree is, so how is that these ones work? I’m very curious.
Thank you
Cathy
Cathy,
A cutting produces and exact clone of the plant. But in the case of apples, they are grafted onto a dwarfing rootstock to keep the cuttings small. It is the rootstock that is making them dwarf.
Enjoyed the article but I am still unsure if I have voles. My hostas were attacked from below the surface, I think. One large plant is now 3 small ones. Do the voles eat the plant roots or the tops? Or, do the moles disturb the plant roots and thereby divide up the plant or ultimately destroy the plant. I also have deer in my yard and I thought they were responsible for eating the tops of the plants. Any info that you can share will be much appreciated. All the wildlife is driving me crazy!!!
Thank you.
Jackie,
Voles and and will eat the plant roots. You can spray for them with scented castor oil diluted. Some say it works, others say it doesn’t. http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2016/03/controlling-voles-in-your-yard-and-garden-organically/
Great stuff!
Thanks so much. I also like your ‘class on the Blue rug Juniper. Sweet!
Big thanks.
CAN THE SAME THING BE DONE WITH OTHER SPRUCE TREES?
Richard,
Something like Bird’s Nest Spruce, yes, but most spruce don’t grow well from cuttings. Many are grown from seed, a very slow process, and others like the really blue ones, are grafted onto seedlings.
thanks for sharing this Mike. I am going to start some cutting of Juniper this summer.