TreeRM

Colorado blue spruce

Picea pungens 路 Pinaceae 路 also Blue spruce, Colorado spruce

A stiff, formal, pyramidal spruce with sharp four-sided needles in shades from green to striking silver-blue, cones with papery scales and purplish-gray scaly bark. It is Colorado's state tree and one of the most planted ornamental conifers in North America, used as a specimen, screen and windbreak. Outside the cool, dry West it suffers: in humid regions Rhizosphaera needle cast and Cytospora canker strip the lower branches of older trees.

ConiferSlow growingFull sunModerate water
Colorado blue spruce
Chris M Morris, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Where it stands

Native

  • 馃嚭馃嚫 AZ, United Statessource
  • 馃嚭馃嚫 CO, United Statessource
  • 馃嚭馃嚫 ID, United Statessource
  • 馃嚭馃嚫 NM, United Statessource
  • 馃嚭馃嚫 UT, United Statessource
  • 馃嚭馃嚫 WY, United Statessource

Adapted

  • 馃嚚馃嚘 Canada 路 Planted throughout southern Canada; USDA PLANTS lists it as introduced in Canada.source
  • 馃嚭馃嚫 United States 路 Widely planted as an ornamental across the northern and central US outside its Rocky Mountain range; declines in hot, humid regions.source

Care

Plant in full sun with good drainage and consistent moisture for the first few years; mature trees are fairly drought tolerant. Give it room and air circulation and avoid overhead irrigation. Needle cast, Cytospora canker, spruce spider mite, gall adelgids and bagworms are the usual problems, worst in hot humid climates.

Benefits

WindbreakWildlifeBirdsDrought tolerantLong lived

Good for

WindbreakScreeningYard shadeparks

Watch out for

Pest prone