Michigan State University Extension
Ornamental Plants plus Version 3.0 - 00001096
11/12/99

Picea pungens--Colorado Spruce


Hardiness Zones: 3 to 7
Height: 60 ft Spread: 20 ft Form: pyramidal
Type: narrow-leaved evergreen tree
Annual Growth Rate: less than 12 inches

Comments: Colorado Spruce is often present in landscapes
in the form of one of its cultivars with bluish foliage.
The tree does not deserve its popularity. It becomes a
very tall, blue tower, decorated with galls at the branch
tips as canker diseases disfigure the tree at an early
age. The tree should be enjoyed while young but should
not be considered permanent. Consider using bluish
cultivars of Abies concolor or Pseudotsuga menziesii as a
substitute.

Cultivars:
'Baby Blueyes' - A dense, upright plant with bluish-gray
foliage.
'Bakeri' - Deep blue foliage is combined with a dwarf
form.
'Bizon Blue' - Bright blue foliage is displayed on a
symmetrical, pyramidal plant reaching a height of 35
feet and a spread of 15 feet.
'Blue Pearl' - An Iseli selection. A dwarf with silvery
blue foliage.
'Blue Select' - A blue cultivar with fast growth and
uniform shape.
'Columnaris' - A columnar from with short branches.
'Compacta' - A dense, compact selection with bright,
blue foliage.
'Copeland' - A cone-shaped tree with bright blue foliage.
'Corbet' - Bluish gray foliage.
'Donna's Rainbow' - A spreading, mounding dwarf.
'Emerald Cushion' - A small plant with bright green
foliage.
'Fat Albert' - A full, pyramidal habit is combined with
bluish foliage (Vis. 1). An Iseli Nursery selection.
var. glauca - Same growth habit (Vis. 7) as the species
but with bluish foliage. These are often grown from
seed and will vary in the intensity of the blue foliage
color.
'Glauca Fastigiata' - A narrow, upright form (Vis. 9)
with bluish-foliage.
'Glauca Pendula' - A weeping cultivar that requires
staking when young or it may be allowed to spread as
a ground cover. May be called 'Glauca Procumbens' if
not staked and allowed to sprawl on the ground.
'Globe' - Globe-shaped when young but more mounded or
upright with age. The foliage is green.
'Globosa' - A globe-shaped dwarf (Vis. 2) with bluish
foliage.
'Gotelli Prostrate' - A low, prostrate form with bluish
foliage.
'Green Spire' - A green form with a dense, pyramidal
habit.
'Henry B. Fowler' - The bluish gray needles are
extremely sharp. The plants are wide, dense and
reach a height of about 25 feet. The growth rate is
rather slow.
'Hillside #1' - A compact selection with grayish-green
needles.
'Hoopsii' - Bright blue foliage (Vis. 4) otherwise the
growth habit (Vis. 3) is that of the species.
'Hoto' - Fast-growing, conical plant with bluish-gray
foliage.
'Hunnewelliana' - A dwarf with bluish foliage and a
conical growth habit. The plant may reach a height
of 24 feet and a spread of 15 feet after 50 years.
'Iseli Fastigiate' - Described by Iseli Nursery as a
"fat, steel-blue cigar."
'Iseli Foxtail' - (Vis. 10) An open, pyramidal tree with
longer needles at the base of the shoot than at the
tip.
'Iseli Select' - A symmetrical, upright, pyramidal
shape with bluish foliage.
'Koster' - This cultivar has blue foliage, a fast
growth rate and a conical form.
'Lutea' - Pale yellow new growth.
'Mesa Verde' - A dwarf, with green foliage and the
ability to tolerate adverse sites.
'Mission Blue' - A dense, pyramidal selection with blue
foliage.
'Moerheimii' - A light blue selection but it may
require staking in order to develop an upright shape.
'Moll' - A slow-growing plant with grayish foliage.
'Mrs Cessarini' - A bright green (Vis. 8), dense, flat
mound.
'Montgomery' - A globe-shaped plant with blue foliage
becoming broadly pyramidal with age (Vis. 5).
'Pendula' - A weeping trees with blue foliage. Unstaked
it can be used as a ground cover.
'Procumbens' - Blue form used as a ground cover.
'Shilo-Weeping' - A weeper with an upright leader and
pendulous side branches.
'St. Mary's Broom' - A dwarf, mounding, blue selection
that has no tendency to grow a leader (Vis. 6).
'Thomsen' ('Thompsenii', 'Thompsen') - A selection with
good silvery blue foliage color.
'Thume' ('Thuem') - A mounded plant only 4 feet tall and
3 feet wide.
'Tiffin' A Canadian selection with a dense, compact
habit, slow growing, good blue foliage color.
'Walnut Glen' ('Goldie') - The foliage is both yellow and
blue (Vis. 11).
'Yvette' - A mounding dwarf with an irregular habit.

References for Cultivars: Bailey Nurseries 1999, Iseli
Nursery 1999, Lake County Nursery 1999, Weston Nurseries
1999, Monrovia Nursery Company 1997, Ray Wiegand's Nursery
1999, Wayside Gardens 1999, Sheridan Nurseries 1999,
Studebaker Nurseries 1999, J. Frank Schmidt and Son 1999,
Berryhill Nurseries 1999, Scarff's Nursery 1999, Gee Farms
1999, Willoway Nurseries 1999.


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