Picea orientalis Aureospicata - Caucasian Spruce

Picea orientalis 'Aureospicata', also known as 'Aurea', is a conifer that forms a subject of moderate size, particularly remarkable in spring when the tips of the dark green branches are adorned with golden yellow shoots, offering an invigorating contrast. The needles turn bronze green in autumn. The Oriental spruce also charms us with its very regular pyramid-shaped habit evolving into a wide column and its dense dark green needles applied against the branch. This cultivar does not exceed 10 to 12m (33 to 39ft) at maturity. Plant it in the sun in poor soil, but one that retains moisture, avoiding limestone, polluted areas, and dry climates.

Picea orientalis, also called Oriental spruce, is an evergreen conifer of the Pinaceae family, native to northeastern Turkey and the Caucasus. In its natural environment, this large pyramidal tree reaching 30m (98ft) in height grows well both on the humus-rich soil of mixed or evergreen forests and on the rocky slopes of the Black Sea coast.

'Aureospicata' is a cultivar derived from this species that is distinguished by the golden brightness of its young shoots, but with a more moderate growth. When young, its habit forms a very regular cone that widens while retaining its arrow with age. Its growth is slow, reaching a height of 2 to 3m (7 to 10ft) in 10 years instead of 4 to 5m (13 to 16ft) for the type in 10 years, and it will become a bush of 10 to 12m (33 to 39ft) at maturity. In spring, it produces very dense young shoots, golden yellow in colour, which form a wonderful combination with the old dark green foliage. Its branches are covered with very short needles, which have a diamond-shaped section. They are shiny, arranged radially and very densely around the branches. They have 2 very discreet white bands on the underside.

The Oriental spruce 'Aureospicata' is a remarkable conifer that will find its place in even mountainous gardens of moderate size, as long as it grows in the sun and in cool soil, in a non-polluted area. Its golden attire in April-May will accompany the flowering of magnolias, plum trees, cherry trees, not to mention the explosion of colours of tulips and other bulb plants. Its limited development, without maintenance, makes it a perfect tree for both well-maintained spaces in housing estate gardens and wild gardens or edges. It can be associated with boxwood, yew, common spruce, and planted at its base a creeping ivy, non-invasive like Hedera helix 'Green Ripple'. The real graphic qualities of conifers naturally impose themselves in the design of a contemporary garden, which prefers the aesthetics of shapes, silhouettes, and textures to the waltz of blooms. These plants, with their reassuring permanence, durably structure a flower bed, mark the paths, border the terrace, easily replacing the strong presence of trimmed boxwood or holly. The key is to play with volumes and colours.