Is this common?

[Kevster]

Not 'really' a bonsai question but curiosity has got me wondering.
In my travels (I'm a residential service plumber) I see lots of landscapes and yard trees. I have noticed a lot of older dwarf Alberta spruce about 2-3 feet tall that have a normal spruce branch or apex. First time I saw it I assumed there was a spruce and a dwarf planted to close together. But as they say you know what happens when you assume. So now I wonder is this caused by mature foliage?

 

[Dav4]

Yes, I think it is relatively common. When I lived in MA., there was an older cemetary just down the road from my house and my family would ride or walk through it some afternoons. There were at least 3-4 very old dwarf Alberta spruces, planted along grave monuments, that had the same growth you describe...they are reverting from the abnormally small, slow growth typical of a dwarf to the normal, larger faster growth of a typical Picea glauca.

 

[filter0540]

Don't Worry it is common....

 

[photo0540]

Yes, this is common.