Picea glauca 'Girard's Monstrosa Nana' / Girard's Monstrous Dwarf white spruce

Picea glauca 'Girard's Monstrosa Nana' is a spreading upright, globose selection of white spruce with stiff, open, irregular branching; and distorted short Blue-green leaves that taper toward the branch tips. Foliar buds are large and prominent. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 12 inches (30 cm) tall and 8 inches (20 cm) wide, an annual growth rate of around 1 inch (2.5 cm).

This cultivar originated in the 1990s as a witch's broom found by Pete Girard Nursery of Geneva, Ohio. The architectural form and curious foliage makes for a true garden curiosity, a conversation piece.