Conifer Database - Snake

Conifer Trees Database

Welcome to the American Conifer Society Database

Established in 1983, our mission is centered on advocating for the integration of conifer trees in garden designs and landscapes. We are dedicated to educating enthusiasts and the general public about the proper care, cultivation, and conservation of these majestic and diverse evergreens.

    
Picea engelmannii ‘Snake’

Picea engelmannii

Picea engelmannii 'Snake' is a delightful freak of a conifer for the larger garden or landscape. It is a robust, broadly upright selection of Engelmann spruce with sparse, undulating, snake-like branches and long, Blue gray needles. It's overall impression is that of a Blue Picea abies 'Virgata.' Due to the fact that lateral and secondary branching can be scarce at times, coupled with terminal buds that sometimes fail to elongate, entire branches may die back from time to time, adding to this spruce's overall strangeness. No two specimens look alike.

After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 m) tall and 6 to 8 feet (2 to 2.5 m) wide, an annual growth rate of 12 to 18 inches (30 - 45 cm).

This cultivar originated as a seedling selected in the early 1980s by Dr. Illa Martin of Viersen, Germany. Picea engelmannii 'Virgata' and 'Glauca Virgata' are both common, and illegitimate synonyms for this plant.




Picea engelmannii

Picea engelmannii

Picea engelmannii

Picea engelmannii

Picea engelmannii

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HORTICULTURAL STATUS:Established / Published
COLOR:Blue Gray
GROWTH SHAPE:
GROWTH SIZE:Large: greater than 12 inches (30 cm) per year / greater than 12 feet (4 m) after 10 years
ORIGIN:Seedling Selection


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