Sester's Dwarf Blue Spruce

There is no doubt about the enduring popularity of the blue spruce, a garden standard, especially in colder parts of the country. So often, though, we see this large tree – and it does quickly become large – in places far too small for it. If you hanker after a blue spruce, but only have a small garden or a small space for it, then the Sester Dwarf Blue spruce is your tree. With stunning silver-blue foliage, it forms a perfect pyramidal tree of incredibly tight and dense branching, looking just like a miniature version of a perfect blue spruce. It needs no trimming to maintain its incredibly neat form, and grows about a quarter of the speed of a regular spruce, so it will never outgrow its allotted space. Expect it to be 3 feet tall in 10 years, but continuing to grow to triple that in time. A superb miniature, ideal for a rock garden, in a bed of rocks and gravel with other dwarf evergreens, or in a pot as a Christmas tree for the elves.

• A perfect miniature of the ideal blue spruce
• Neat, compact pyramidal form
• Striking silver-blue needles on dense branches
• Ideal small specimen anywhere in the garden, or in a pot
• Tough, cold-resistant and easy to grow

Plant the Sester Dwarf Blue Spruce in a bright, sunny spot for the best color and the densest growth. It grows well in well-drained soils, anything from clay to sand and gravel, and in urban gardens as well. Avoid wet places. It’s very cold tolerant too, certainly to zone 3, and into zone 2 with some shelter, it isn’t eaten by deer and rarely has any pest or disease issues. No need to trim, and we don’t recommend it – this plant is incredibly dense already, and should be allowed to grow naturally. Preserve a single leading stem for the best look, cutting back any branches competing with the main stem.