Picea abies 'Compressa' is a fast-growing, narrow, columnar selection of Norway Spruce with dense fastigiate branches and bright, dark-green needles. After 10 years, a mature specimen will measure 12 feet (4 m) tall and 4 feet (1.3 m) wide, an annual growth rate of around 12 inches (30 cm). As is true with many narrowly fastigiate spruces, heavy snow or ice will cause the plant to splay open, sometimes irreparably. In order to prevent such damage, custodian living in snow-prone parts of the world should wrap or otherwise bind their plants prior to winter.
This cultivar is named for a unique tree found in 1903 in the Forest Garden of Dierdorf, Bavaria, Germany. In the Latin language, "compressa" means "compressed" or "flattened."
