Picea glauca Biesenthaler Frühling - White Spruce

Picea glauca 'Biesenthaler Frühling' is a variety of dwarf white spruce, which fully reveals itself in May and June when the plant buds into young cream-coloured needles, dazzling with beauty and clarity. This conifer has a narrow and conical habit and naturally dense, regular vegetation, without any pruning being necessary. This neat appearance is complemented by light green to dark green foliage with a muted hue. It prefers a sheltered or semi-shaded position, protected from the sun during budding. The soil should be moist and well-drained.

Picea glauca, also known as White Spruce or Glaucous Spruce, is an evergreen conifer belonging to the Pinaceae family. It is native to Canada. In its natural environment, it grows slowly and has a fairly variable habit depending on its habitat, but is usually conical or pyramidal with a broad base. This tree can reach a height of 25m (82ft). This species is traditionally used for paper making. It can live for many years (200 years or more).

The 'Biesenthaler Frühling' variety, derived from this species, is a dwarf form with a compact, narrow, conical and upright habit. After 10 years of cultivation, it reaches a height of only 80 to 100cm (32 to 40in) with a width of 55cm (22in), sometimes more in cool and humid climates. At maturity, it will reach 2m (7ft) in height and 1m (3ft) in width. It produces short, ascending and tight branches, arranged in a hierarchical and dense manner, covered with short and quadrangular needles, which are very sharp and aromatic (acrid resin smell). They are covered with a white wax. Its young spring shoots are of a stunningly bright cream-yellow, then its foliage takes on a slightly muted shade, uniformly green-grey, variable depending on the plants. In winter, the colder temperatures turn the needles bluish in appearance. The root system of white spruces is shallow, highly branched and spreading, making them difficult to transplant when mature and particularly sensitive to wind. However, a container-grown plant will quickly adapt to open ground.

With its compact development, undemanding nature, and easy cultivation, 'Biesenthaler Frühling' is ideal for rockeries, terraces or solitary planting. It thrives in many situations, under various climates, as long as the soil is well-drained, deep and not too chalky. This plant goes well with large stones, geometric lines and masonry work. It is often planted with other conifers with colourful foliage and different shapes to create double contrasts, such as prostrate conifers like Juniperus horizontalis 'Blue Chip', globose ones like Picea abies 'Little Gem', or columnar ones like Juniperus communis 'Sentinel'. The sculptural qualities of conifers naturally impose themselves in the design of a contemporary garden, which prefers the aesthetics of shapes, silhouettes, and textures over the fleeting beauty of flowers. With their reassuring permanence, these plants durably structure a bed. They can mark pathways, and border terraces, easily replacing the strong presence of trimmed boxwood or holly. They pair well with heathers or ground cover plants such as aubrietas, cerastiums, shrubby salvias, as well as flowering shrubs. The key is to play with volumes and colours.