Picea abies 'Nidiformis' is a very well-known "nesting" form of Norway spruce. It grows as a flat-topped, spreading shrub with dense, horizontal layers of branches, becoming much wider than tall with age. Foliage is a refreshing, light-green color. Don Howse of Porterhowse Farms adds that the nest in the center may disappear with age. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 18 inches (45 cm) tall and 4.5 feet (1.5 m) wide, an annual growth rate of 3 to 6 inches (7.5 - 15 cm).
Bird's Nest spruce is a very old cultivar, known in the nursery trade since the early 1900s. Rulemann Grisson Nursery of Sasselheide Germany is credited with its introduction. German botanist and dendrologist, Ludwig Bessner first described and named it in his 1903 text - Handbook of hardwood designation, etc. (with Ernst Schelle and Hermann Zabel).
