Dwarf Birds Nest Spruce
* Common name: Dwarf birds nest spruce
* Botanical name: Picea abies‘Nidiformis’
* What it is: A low, slow-growing, nest-shaped evergreen with stiff, medium-green needles.
* Size: 2 to 3 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide in 10-12 years.
* Where to use: Under windows along western or southern foundations, ringed around limbed-up trees where it’s sunny or massed on a sunny bank. Full sun to light shade. Avoid wet areas.
* Care: Keep damp the first season or two, then it’s reasonably drought-tolerant. Main problem (besides occasional mites) is brutal heat like we’ve had this summer. May drop needles when temperatures approach 100 degrees. Fertilize with a spring scattering of acidifying, organic, granular fertilizer such as Holly-tone or Holly-Care. Pruning not needed if you give it adequate space. Lightly trim off new growth in June if size-control needed.
* Great partner: Black-eyed susans, yellow daylilies or golden mums.
I love the dwarf birds nest spruce. Can they be kept trimmed in order to be in a pot?
Is there a plant among those you list that could be kept in a pot, in the house in winter, and outside in warm weather.
Thanks very much,
BB
Barbara,
Yes, birds nest spruce can be lightly trimmed to maintain a small size. Just go lightly and never back into bare wood, i.e. letting it get too big and then trying to cut off too much at once.
That one can be kept outside all year. Most any plant sold as a houseplant can be grown in a pot inside in winter and then moved outside in summer. You might also look at gardenia as a possibility for moving inside and out.