Golden Acre Home & Garden Centre's Plant Library

Description:

Extremely dense, compact and slow growing, producing soft yellow new growth to contrast the deep green beneath; ideal as a garden accent; needles are very sensitive to winter burn and may need winter protection in exposed locations

Ornamental Features

Pixie Dust Alberta Spruce is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its distinctively pyramidal habit of growth. It has rich green evergreen foliage which emerges buttery yellow in spring. The needles remain green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Pixie Dust Alberta Spruce is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a distinctive and refined pyramidal form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub. When pruning is necessary, it is recommended to only trim back the new growth of the current season, other than to remove any dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Pixie Dust Alberta Spruce is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Pixie Dust Alberta Spruce will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. This is a selection of a native North American species.

Pixie Dust Alberta Spruce makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.