Neat, small conifers (7)

I believe the answer is:

spruces

'conifers' is the definition.
(spruce is a kind of conifer)

'neat small' is the wordplay.
'neat' becomes 'spruce' ('spruce' can be a synonym of 'neat').
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'spruce'+'s'='SPRUCES'

(Another definition for spruces that I've seen is " trees sold recently?".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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