Picea schrenkiana 'Alma Ata' is a miniature globose selection of Schrenk's spruce. It has the typical grayish-green needles of the type, but slightly shorter. The plant's overall structure is globose to irregular globose. After 10 years in the garden a mature specimen will be less than 12 inches (30 cm) tall and only slightly narrower, suggesting an annual rate of growth of less than 1 inch (2.5 cm).
This cultivar originated as a witch's broom found in 1987 by the renowned German plantsman Güsnter Eschrich in the town of Alma Ata, Kazakhstan. He named it for the town where he found the original broom.
