Picea bicolor 'Howell's Dwarf'

A low-growing and spreading dwarf conifer that forms a flat-topped mound in the landscape. The needles are green on the upper surface and silvery-blue on the underside, giving it a two-toned appearance. This unusual dwarf spruce has branches that shoot out at angles making a striking, mounding form.  Red cones form on the new growth in the spring, making this one of the most colorful of the bicolor spruces.  To keep the mounded shape, leaders heading up need to be cut out, otherwise a pyramidal tree will form. Picea alcoquina is the scientific name for Picea bicolor, also known as 'Alcock's spruce'.