Scientific Name:
Picea pungens
f.
glauca
Pronunciation:
PYE-see-uh PUN-jenz
Common Name:
Colorado blue spruce, Colorado spruce
Family Name:
Pinaceae
Plant Type:
Conifer
Key ID Features:
Dense, pyramidal shape with horizontal lower branches; twigs not pendent, needles very prickly (apex spine-tipped), 4-sided, greyish-blue, most 2-3cm long; new growth is pale blue; seed cones cylindrical, most 6-10cm long x about 3cm wide, scales with thin tips and finely toothed wavy margins. Conifers.org
Habit:
Horizontal, Stiffly upright
Form:
Pyramidal - narrowly
Texture:
Medium - fine
Mature Height:
15 - 22m
Mature Spread:
5 - 7m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
U.S. - northwest, U.S. - southwest (Rocky Mountains)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
Low
Landscape Uses:
Alpine, Screening, Specimen plant, Winter interest
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Needle-like
Arrangement:
Spiraled
Texture/Venation:
Prickly
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Summer:
Bluish
Colour in Fall:
Bluish
Shapes:
Acicular
Apices:
Acute
Margins:
Entire
Inflorescence Type:
n/a (male cone)
Flower Morphology:
Monoecious plant
Colour (petals):
Male cone, No flowers, Yellow, Purple, Red
Flower Time at Peak:
Fruit Type:
Cone (winged seeds)
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Aug, Sep
Additional Info:
6 to 11 long by 4cm wide when open
Bark Morphology:
Exfoliating, Plated
Bark or Stem Colour:
Grey, Brown
Additional Info:
thin plates mostly 5 - 10cm long
Organ Modifications:
Ectomycorrhizae
Propagation:
Seed, Grafting
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
Blight or needle cast, Canker or sap rot, Mites, Rust (Deer resistant, Rabbit resistant, Drought tolerant)
Course(s):
- HORT 1155
- Level 1 Apprenticeship
- CLT Training
Location(s):
- (BCW) Boulevard (Circular) Westend : near motel
- (CGW) Community Garden West
- (GAZ) GAZebo
- (GAZW) GAZebo West : cv. Glauca Globosa
- (JPL) Juglans PLanting : just species
- (TFL) Turf Field Lab
- (TFLN) Turf Field Lab North : just species
- (WDH) Wark-Dumais House
- (WLG) WoodLand Garden : just species q. 20+, also cv. Procumbens (near gate)