Plant of the Week: 'Gowdy', The Munchkin Spruce

Are you looking for a specimen evergreen, which is not too big for a small garden or small enough to keep in a container outdoors? A Munchkin spruce may be just what you are looking for.

We love the purple cones on 'Gowdy'

For a limited time, Valley View is offering 'Gowdy' a tiny (by spruce standards) spruce. Picea orientalis (for those with a botanist's outlook) or Oriental Spruce has short, deep green, blunt tipped needles, graceful, drooping branchlets, and an irregular pyramidal shape. It is native to the Caucasus and Asia Minor and hardy to zone 4. The variety 'Gowdy' is more columnar and very slow growing, attaining a height of 8-10 ft with about half the width at maturity. And if its diminutive size and pliable, soft deep green needles isn't enough, when mature it develops purple cones! How nice is that?
Because of its slow growth, 'Gowdy' would be an excellent choice as a container plant and its cuteness factor enhanced during the Christmas holidays if it were decorated with outdoor lights and baubles. It would also make a delightful specimen evergreen in a townhouse garden where space is limited. While 'Gowdy' prefers full sun, in the Baltimore area's summers, a slightly shaded place during the hottest part of summer days would be best. If using it as a container plant, provide it with a well-draining, rich potting medium, and although it has some drought tolerance, be sure it has consistent moisture during its first few years.
Stop by soon to see 'Gowdy', Valley View's Munchkin spruce.

This week's blog guest blogger is Teresa Schiano, one of our nursery experts.