Picea abies 'Remontii' is a symmetrically conical, slow-growing selection of Norway spruce with upward trending, more-or-less fastigiate branching and yellowish green needles. It's form and structure is reminiscent of Picea glauca var. albertiana 'Conica.' After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 12 to 18 inches (30 - 45 cm) tall and two-thirds as wide, an annual growth rate of 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 - 4 cm).
R. Smith first formally described this cultivar in botanical literature in 1874 under the name Abies escelsa remontii. In 1891, Ludwig Beissner described it as Picea excelsa forma remontii, with the implication that similar clones existed and should be held collectively as a form of the species rather than as a distinct cultivar. Finally, in 1919, Alfred Rehder described it under the name Picea abies forma remontii; again suggesting that multiple clones existed.
'Remontii' is definitely one of the oldest-known conifer cultivars with deserved popularity and prominence in the international nursery trade. It is of unknown origin, but was named for someone named, "Remont," but it's not quite clear who that was. Below are notes and comments from authors and growers.
Don Howse writes in Porterhowse Farms Catalog, "this is an erect broadly conical bush with short mid-green needles. The branches are mostly ascending."
Gerd Krussmann writes in Manual of Cultivated Conifers, "annual growth about 2-3 cm. Known since 1874."
D.M. van Gelderen writes in Conifers -The Illustrated Encyclopedia, "one of the finest conical dwarfs. It is rare in the trade, as it cannot be propagated by cuttings."
