WSU Clark County Extension
PNW Plants Searchable, categorized images
              

Rainbow’s End Alberta Spruce

Scientific name: Picea glauca 'Rainbow's End'
Taxonomy
Family:Pinaceae
Type:Dwarf conifers
Native:NO
Plant Requirements
Zone:3 to 8
Sun:Full sun
Moisture:Medium
Plant Characteristics
Height:10 ft
Width:4 ft
Additional Characteristics
Trees


Fruit

Leaves


Bark
Wildlife value

Poisonous
Description Rainbow's End Alberta Spruce forms a luminescent, butter-yellow beacon in the Northwest’s landscape. With its perfect conical shape and diminutive size it is the perfect tree for the smaller garden.

  Morphology:
This Alberta Spruce variant only grows to a height of 10’ and a width of 3’-4’ after 10 years of establishment. It only puts on ¼”- ¾” of new growth each year. In the spring the new growth is creamy golden yellow making a nice contrast to the older dark green foliage. The foliage is densely packed onto the branches. The overall shape is upright pyramidal.

  Adaptation:
Avoid planting this cultivar where it is exposed to hot dry winds. None-the-less for best color ensure that it gets full sun. It can serve as focal point, specimen or foundation shrub.

  Pests:
Red spider mites are often a problem when Alberta spruce is planted on dry sites or those exposed to drying winds.
For assistance, contact Dr. Charles Brun (brunc@wsu.edu), (360) 397-6060 5701
Computing and Web Resources, PO Box 6234, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-6234