Well good morning and Happy July 4th.
I have a tree in my front yard that has perplexed me for a few years. I live in St. Charles IL. It isn't unique to this area, but surprisingly, a lady at the local U. of Illinois extension service was unable to provide an ID. Since then I have tried several times with on-line searches and I've come up empty handed. Any assistance would be very much appreciated, so I'll try to upload some photos now.
My reason for determining what tree it is, is so I can do a better job of caring for it. All I know is it appears to be a columnar evergreen but does not produce cones.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/46336/front_yard_tree_-_1.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1499166227)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/46336/front_yard_tree_-_2.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1499166449)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/46336/front_yard_tree_-_3.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1499166573)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/46336/front_yard_tree_-_5.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1499166642) Thanks in advance for any assistance you all can provide & best regards
Are the needles really stout, rigid, and sharp such that if you handle them, they will stick you?
Yes, they sure are. Pointy short and stiff.
Could be (and very probably) monkeypuzzle.
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=825
Quote from: WDH on July 04, 2017, 03:49:41 PM
Could be (and very probably) monkeypuzzle.
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=825
Nope. pretty sure it's not an Araucaria species. The needles actually look like needles, on a Monkey Puzzle they they are much flatter, almost like leaves (but spiny)
The way the branches droop make me think Himalayan Spruce (Picea smithiana), but not 100% on that.
Gonna go with some type of spruce tree, my parents have a blue spruce in there yard that looks similar to it, the oaks have caused it to grow very slowly.
popcorn_smiley
Thanks everyone for your assistance. I'll look for information on caring for spruce trees.
Looks sprucey to me.
If that isn't a spruce I'll gouge out my eyes.
It should produce cones, most likely only at the top of the tree. If they are ~4" long it's most likely blue spruce. If they are more like 2" long then white spruce.
Clark
Being an ornamental tree it may not even be a native species, hence my Himalayan Spruce guess.
The way the foliage and lower branches all weep downward is a characteristic if that species. Lack of cones may be because it's growing outside it's "comfort zone"? It's obviously grown OK, but seasons may not be suitable to encourage the seeding.
Of course according to Wikipedia there are 35 different species of Spruce, so take your pick. :P
Quote from: Ianab on July 07, 2017, 12:23:08 AM
Being an ornamental tree it may not even be a native species, hence my Himalayan Spruce guess.
You make a good point, Ianab. Any species growing outside of it's native range tends to look odd and may not produce seed. Given the location, Illinois, it's most certainly not native to the area as there are no spruce that grow down there. Blue and white would be the most common from a nursery but anything is possible.
Clark