Blue Spruce - Varieties Suited to Our Small Gardens
Thanks Iseli Nursery for the images below.
P.p. ‘Fat Albert’
Picea Pungens – Blue Spruce
Picea pungens is a bright silvery blue, evergreen conifer, with a narrow, pyramidal form with horizontal to weeping branching. In the Bay Area they typically reach 20-25' in height, although they can grow 30-60’ tall and more where they grow naturally. Stiff, bristly, blue-green to silver-blue needles (to 1.5” long) point outward from the branches in all directions. Their silver-blue color is attributed to the white pores on the upper and lower surface of the needles. The genus name, Picea, is derived from the Latin word pix, which means "pitch" and refers to the sticky resin that is found on the tree's bark. Great as a specimen or accent plant and also works well as a privacy screen. Plant it in drought-tolerant gardens, meadows, naturalized areas, rock, native gardens or woodland areas.
Grow in full to sun light to part shade in acidic, well-drained soils, rich in compost matter with medium water. It is considered more drought tolerant than other species and will become more tolerant as it matures. Documented to be rabbit and deer resistant. Native to the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, Wyoming to New Mexico.
P.p. ‘The Blues’
P.p. ‘St. Mary’s Broom’
P.p. ‘Montgomery’
The following list of varieties have been bred or selected from natually occuring mutation and can be used in so many more ways in our gardens than the species.
Picea pungens ‘Fat Albert’ tree, broadly pyramidal, "semi-dwarf", to 10-15 ft with narrower spread. Dense, nearly radical with stiff horizontal branches of rich blue needles.
Picea pungens ‘Glauca Procumbens’: Spreading, undulating, prostrate groundcover with powder blue foliage, 2’ x 10’. Excellent among rocks or over stone walls.
Picea pungens ‘Pendula’: Dwarf, weeping, blue needled form. It can be grown either staked to 6’, with weeping branches or unstaked, which will sprawl along the ground 1‘ x 8-10’
Picea pungens ‘Glauca Slenderina Pendula’: 12-14’ x 6-8’ Graceful, upright columnar, yet weeping silver blue narrow form – best staked.
Picea pungens ‘St. Mary’s Broom’: 4’ x 5’ Dwarf, steel blue, dense, spreading mound with long, widely-angled needles.
Picea pungens ‘R.H. Montgomery’: 4-5’ x 3’ Dwarf with broad, cone to pyramidal shape with compact branches of silvery blue needles. Can reach up to 6-8’ in time.
Picea pungens ‘Monty’: 8’ x 6’ Classical conical shape with frosty blue foliage of long, thin needles. New cultivar of parents ‘Montgomery’ and ‘Hoopsi’.
Picea pungens ‘The Blues’: 5-6’x 5-6’ as staked. Bright silver-blue, graceful, irregular, spreading growth habit with strongly weeping branches. Stake to desired height. Each plant is unique.