New Conifer Growth - Lime Green Tips - May 2024

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Some of our conifers are putting on a two-toned needle show right now.  The new growth on both our Weeping White Spruce and Weeping Norway Spruce emerge in a neon-green color that contrasts with the older, darker-green needles on the main part of the trees.  The new growth brightens up the garden and makes the trees standout a little bit.

Below are a couple of photos - first one of the Weeping Norway Spruce that is planted IB2DWs.  There are two of these that went in last Fall, but the one in the photo is the tree that is planted closer to the house than the sidewalk.    And, the second photo is the Weeping White Spruce that lost its leader a number of years ago and has NOT grown up at all.   

Weeping Norway Spruce - New Spring Growth - Neon Green Needles

Weeping White Spruce - New Spring Growth - Neon Green Needles

Here's a post from early June 2023 that shows this same Weeping White Spruce tree with big, blue-ish swollen tips of new needles after the flush grew out.  

I mentioned that this tree lost its leader and it hasn't grown at all height-wise for a few years, but now that I'm looking at this photo, I'm wonder if the new leader really *is* there - but it just needs training to get it upright.  See below for this annotated photo.  Is this the leader?  Could I train it up?

Weeping White Spruce New Leader Training - Conifer Tree

I attempted to train-up a new leader, but it doesn't appear to have established apical dominance in a couple of seasons, so perhaps it is time to give this other branch a shot at the top.  

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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