Conifer Database - Merrell Broom

Picea abies ‘Merrell Broom’

Picea abies 'Merrell Broom' is an irregular globose selection of Norway spruce with short, clumpy branches holding very dark, shiny short green needles. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 12 to 18 inches (15 - 20 cm) tall and wide, an annual growth rate of 1 to 1.5 inches (1.5 - 2 cm).

Picea abies [Merrell Broom Tree] - this photo shows the original mother broom tree with the broom attached. The photo was taken in the Harper Collection, at Michigan State University's Hidden Lake Gardens, Tipton, Michigan. This tree was planted in the collection in 1996.

This cultivar originated as a witch's broom found in the early 1990s by Dr. David Merrell of Rossford, Ohio, USA. The mother tree with broom was growing in a farm windbreak near Rossford. In 1995, Dr. Merrell arranged to have the tree dug and donated to the Harper Collection of Dwarf & Rare Conifers at Hidden Lake Gardens, Tipton Michigan where it lives to this day.