Picea Abies Ohlendorffii or Ohlendorffs Norway Spruce

Picea Abies Ohlendorffii (Ohlendorff’s Norway Spruce) is an evergreen dwarf conifer that starts out as a mound when it’s young but becomes conical with age. It’s suitable for a variety of well-drained sunny spots and low maintenance gardens.

Picea Abies is commonly known as the Norway spruce. The Ohlendorffii cultivar originated as a seedling selected by the Ohlendorff nursey in Hamburg, Germany in the early 1800s. It’s proved itself a suitable conifer for UK gardens with its tough nature and interesting, neat growth habit.

Ohlendorff’s Norway Spruce is a slow-growing evergreen tree with cheerful yellow-green needles. It’s a globose, ground-hugging mound when it’s young, but turns into a conical upright tree that suits small spaces. At all stages of its life, it remains neat, tidy and compact. Leathery cones appear on its dense branch tips later in the year and new growth emerges paler in contrast to the established foliage in spring. It’s an excellent spruce for compact gardens or borders that need low maintenance colour and height without excessive width.

Height And Spread of Picea Abies Ohlendorffii
Ohlendorff’s Norway Spruce is a dwarf conifer that reaches 1.8 metres tall and 1.2 metres in spread over 10 years.

How Hardy Is Picea Abies Ohlendorffii
Ohlendorff’s Norway Spruce is tough enough to survive sub-zero winters in well-drained soil. It copes with pollution and drought too.

How To Use Picea Abies Ohlendorffii
Its small size and neat growth habit make this an excellent conifer for compact spaces as a screen, a windbreak, or a feature that highlights aspects of the garden such as a pergola or walkway. Alternatively, it creates a handsome feature as a standalone specimen.
It’s pollution tolerant so suits front gardens and provides safe habitats in wildlife-friendly spaces.
This is a versatile conifer that brings shape, height, texture and evergreen colour to all types of city and country gardens without the worry of it growing too large.

How To Care For Picea Abies Ohlendorffii
Little to no maintenance is required once Ohlendorf is established. It will grow in the majority of well-drained soils in full sun or partial shade. Brighter colour foliage and more cones appear in full sun.
No pruning is required but a thick layer of organic mulch around its roots in spring helps trap moisture and provides healthy nutrients for the growing season.