Ezo Spruce, day one...

[Forsoothe!]

These are like gold-plated hen's teeth, just not generally available locally. I found these two online at Gee Farms, Stockbridge, MI, about 100 miles from my home for $30 each. The lady said they were grafted at 8 years old. My plan is ground- layering now and separating in spring of '23...

 

[Forsoothe!]

And here's number 2...
Both have Milorganite 6-4-0 ferts, Leonardite humate, Kelp meal, and bone char broadcast on the soil and covered with pea gravel to stabilize the soil surface.

 

[penumbra]

They are a find. Best of luck.

 

[just.wing.it]

Hmm. I suppose you know what you're doing, but I have to ask....
Starting ground layers at this time of year? Is that a good idea?

Also, what's up with the plastic below the layer?

How will you over-winter them?

I think if I did that, those suckers would be dead in a jiffy.

 

[penumbra]

Hmm. I suppose you know what you're doing, but I have to ask....
Starting ground layers at this time of year? Is that a good idea?

I'm not sure about that. Being conifers I think they will do fine. I might give them some wind protection but that is about all.
I probably would not do an air layer now.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I just checked two JWP that I did the same thing (almost) to in fall of 2018. One bridged and I had to redo it, and the other was a success and I cut the bottom of the rootball off and potted it up until next spring when I will further reduce the roots to just the layered roots. The plastic wrap is wired on these two, not tightly, just above the bottom cambium cut so it can't bridge. There was only a short stretch of trunk available to skin, and I had to remove the lowest rank of branches anyway to have a decent span of bare trunk. The roots are still free to grow in every direction. I will sink the pots for 2 winters and one summer and check them in spring 2023.

 

[Yamabudoudanshi]

I've never seen anyone layer an ezo before, but supposedly they are one of the easiest conifers for cuttings, so I would imagine layer success rate would also be high.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I did some cuttings, too, such as they are. I figured I had nothing to lose and since they're so hard to some by, the successful ones would be easy to get rid of. I'm also trying to fine-tune the process so I can do it when I really want to. I do figs all the time, but they don't really count. All I had to work with was the twigs I cut off to gain some length of trunk to layer. Be amazed...



These will be sunk over winter and shaded with a board so there will be light, but no direct rays.

 

[Djtommy]

I doubt this is going to work actually.
while I know it’s possible to air layer ezo spruce, it generally takes a long time And it’s not very reliable.
you say you will separate in 2023. Perhaps by 2023 it has Grown roots however, here there is no longer foliage available to support the existing roots.

when you do a layer that requires a long time I think you need branches below the layer that can support the existing roots. Otherwise those won’t survive for 2 years.

 

[Yamabudoudanshi]

I doubt this is going to work actually.
while I know it’s possible to air layer ezo spruce, it generally takes a long time And it’s not very reliable.
you say you will separate in 2023. Perhaps by 2023 it has Grown roots however, here there is no longer foliage available to support the existing roots.

when you do a layer that requires a long time I think you need branches below the layer that can support the existing roots. Otherwise those won’t survive for 2 years.

That's an interesting point.

I guess the exception would be if there are other trunks/branches not being layered that are still being supported by the rootstock?
I currently have two layers in progress on a home center shishigashira that's grafted. They're actually stacked on the same trunk right above the graft union. However, there are two other shishi trunks (stalks) still being supported by the rootstock. All of the trunks have continued to grow throughout the season.
Both the air layers are filling up with roots, although I will admit, the top one with way more foliage is filling up quicker.
I've posted a pic to illustrate what I'm doing.
I guess the big difference is maples take very quickly. I'm planning on removing these ones sometimes after they go into dormancy. The top one for sure.

Anyway, I hope it works out for you OP. At the very worst maybe you'll get some rooted cuttings out of it.

 

[Forsoothe!]

These are useless to me as-is. I'm assuming that the new roots provide for the canopy by some amount, perhaps less than less than the reduction in services than the roots that are diminishing on the root stock below, but maybe not. Just how long the lower roots can stay useful in the process is unknown to me, but I have to fight the war as it is, not as I want it. If I had my druthers, I would buy one un-grafted 12" tree, but they don't exist.

 

[penumbra]

These are useless to me as-is. I'm assuming that the new roots provide for the canopy by some amount, perhaps less than less than the reduction in services than the roots that are diminishing on the root stock below, but maybe not. Just how long the lower roots can stay useful in the process is unknown to me, but I have to fight the war as it is, not as I want it. If I had my druthers, I would buy one un-grafted 12" tree, but they don't exist.

Again, I am pulling for you long shot or not. Best of luck.

 

[rockm]

Hope you're successful. FWIW, Ezo spruce isn't as rare in the U.S. as some think. .A quick search (Some are wholesale nurseries..):

Picea jezoensis 'Howell's Dwarf '

Although often known in the trade incorrectly as Picea bicolor 'Howell's Dwarf Tigertail', the correct name is Picea jezoensis 'Howell's Dwarf'. This is confirmed by the American Conifer Society. The tree forms a wide, spreading, flat-topped form with ascending branches. The needles are...

www.singtree.com

Picea jezoensis 'Howell's Dwarf' Yezo Spruce

Picea jezoensis ‘Howell’s Dwarf’ Yezo Spruce for Sale at Best Price. Free Shipping on order over $150. Shop Online from Conifer Kingdom.

www.coniferkingdom.com

SPRUCE YEZO

Yezo Spruce has a broad upright to oval habit, similar to Norway spruce. Can grow to 120 feet, with glossy dark green needles with a silver underside. Recommended hardiness zones 3 – 7. Native to Russia, North Korea, China and Serbia. Intolerant to the heat and humidity of the deep south.

evergreennurseryco.com

You can find them if you scrounge around.

 

[JeffS73]

Where you say ezo spruce, which one do you mean, picea jezoensis or picea glehnii? Looks more like glehnii compared to my (very few) examples. I thought most of the Japanese yamadori where glehnii, but jezoensis has lovely foliage.

 

[Mike Westervelt]

Where you say ezo spruce, which one do you mean, picea jezoensis or picea glehnii? Looks more like glehnii compared to my (very few) examples. I thought most of the Japanese yamadori where glehnii, but jezoensis has lovely foliage.

Tags say jezoensis, I too was under the impression that the "good ones" were glenii

 

[Forsoothe!]

What are the differences?

 

[LanceMac10]

Hoping this works for you.

 

[Adair M]

Any updates on this experiment? Are they still alive?

By the way, “Ezo Spruce“is Picea glenii, which has a smaller, more delicate needle, and grows slower. Jezo or Yezo are coarser. Kinda like how San Jose juniper and Procumbens Nana juniper have similar foliage, but San Jose is coarser.

 

[Hartinez]

Any updates on this experiment? Are they still alive?

By the way, “Ezo Spruce“is Picea glenii, which has a smaller, more delicate needle, and grows slower. Jezo or Yezo are coarser. Kinda like how San Jose juniper and Procumbens Nana juniper have similar foliage, but San Jose is coarser.

Forsoothe has been MIA for some time now.

 

[sorce]

I was hoping he updated this .

Sorce