Scientific Name
Picea abies ‘Fastigiata’ ‘Fastigiate Norway Spruce’
A cultivar of the standard Norway spruce, this is a fastigiate form, also known as ‘Cupressina’ (“little cypress”). It typically grows to about 20 feet tall and just six feet wide, forming a dense, conical shape that is useful for narrow planting spaces.
In most other respects, this tree is similar to the regular Norway spruce, with its long dangling seed cones and somewhat drooping branchlets. The reference to cypress likely comes from its resemblance to the Italian, or Mediterranean, cypress that many people recognize as one of the narrowest conifers used in landscaping, though that species is not cold hardy enough to survive here.
This line of fastigiate Norway spruces at Regis offers a convenient comparison with the standard species, which forms a row directly across the sidewalk to the east.