Viewing post #1292204 by SpringGreenThumb

Leftwood said:It's still hard to say if the one you original though might be a Black spruce is or is not that. I still say it could be either, because there can be a lot of variation in the species (think of how varied Homo sapiens is). And then growing in a pot is so stressful that true growth patterns don't always show as definitively as they might. It's clear that they all grew much better than they did last season.

Red spruce had not even entered my mind. It is certainly not native anywhere near Minnesota, and I don't think anyone grows it here. Even the MN Arboretum doesn't have any! (Or they all died.) About 20 years ago, I had one from a mail order nursery. It grew for about 8 years and then croaked. From what little I know about them, now that you mention it, I think it would be a stronger candidate than Black spruce. It would have better ornamental qualities, too. Once they all grow in the ground for a few years, they will be easier to identify with the truer characteristic growth. Black spruce is easily identified with the cones, but usually won't produce cones until much much older. Red spruce, I don't know.

See here about root girdling and the need for surgery:
http://www.missouribotanicalga...
http://www.treeboss.net/girdli...

Those are pictures of the Serbian Spruce Roots... Do I need to slice them up?

I was thinking possibly a red spruce because the description says it has reddish branch bark. This is an up close picture of the one I originally was guessing as a Black Spruce. Maybe this reddish hue does signify it as a candidate of being a Red Spruce.




This next picture is an image of the White Spruce branch bark.