ID’d by GROW: Witches’ Broom on Norway Spruce (Picea abies)
Broaden your landscape horticulture knowledge and plant identification skills with the GROW community!
ID’d by Sarah Rafols (GROW Technical Trainer)
This weekend in Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery, I saw a witches’ broom on a Norway Spruce! Witches’ Brooms are abnormal and dense clusters of twigs that appear on trees due to genetic mutations or a virus affecting the buds of branches.
In spruces, pines, and firs, witches’ brooms have been used to develop new plant varieties and cultivars that are classified as dwarf plants.