Colorado Blue Spruce

The Colorado Blue Spruce is a conical-shaped evergreen tree with stiff horizontal branches and short stiff needles. It is a commonly used tree in Midwest landscapes. In nature the needles are often green, but many specimens produce blue-green needles. Plus, it’s long-lived (seriously…it can last hundreds of years!) and provides food and shelter for an abundance of wildlife.

 

This well-known beauty withstands wind better than most spruces because it boasts a widespread, deeper root system. This beautiful spruce varies in color from gray-green to blue-green. A broad, pyramid-shaped evergreen. The dense foliage needs little shearing. Excellent as a point of interest, hedge or windbreak.

This species is native to USA — Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, growing in the montane zone at elevations varying from 5,800 to 8,800 feet (1,830 – 2,740 m) above sea level in the northern range of the species, and from 6,800 to 9,800 feet (2,130 – 3,050 m) in southern areas. It prefers well-drained soils.

It prefers well-drained soils, but it adapts well to a variety of different soils, from acidic to clay, and requires normal moisture with moderate tolerance to drought. Also, with a manageable growth rate of 12 to 24 inches per year, it’s easy to acclimate to your landscape with its uniform growth and symmetrical branching.

The Colorado blue spruce is such a delight that nature seems to have kept it a well-guarded secret for a very long time. It was not until 1862 that this spectacular species was discovered growing in enchanted meadows and stream sides high up in the Rocky Mountains.

This species is native to USA — Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, growing in the montane zone at elevations varying from 5,800 to 8,800 feet (1,830 – 2,740 m) above sea level in the northern range of the species, and from 6,800 to 9,800 feet (2,130 – 3,050 m) in southern areas.

Once found, the fame of this blue spruce spread quickly, and today it is one of our most widely planted landscape trees as well as the state tree of Colorado. When writing Handbook on Conifers in 1969, Henry Tuescher, curator emeritus of the Montreal Botanical Garden, called the Colorado blue spruce one of the five finest conifers. Tuescher gave no reasons for this honor except for the tree’s exceptional beauty.

Colorado Blue Spruce

Botanical name: Picea pungens
All Common Names: Black Hills Spruce
Family (English): Pine
Family (Botanic): Pinaceae
Foliage: Evergreen (Retains most of its needles year-round)
Height: 30-60′
Spread: 10-20′
Shape: Pyramidal
Exposure: Full Sun to partial shade
Foliage: Blue green
Fall Foliage: Same
Zone: 3-6

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Colorado Blue Spruce