Blue Spruce

A native of the Rocky Mountains, the blue spruce is a pine tree that is nonetheless commonly used in Midwest landscapes. It is evergreen, making it ideal for year-round foliage. Most associate it with Christmas - when you are looking for a real Christmas tree for your home, the blue spruce might be the right candidate. It is the state tree of Colorado.

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Picea pungens

HISTORY: Explorers did not discover the blue spruce in the United States until 1862 when botanist Charles Parry found it on Pikes Peak, Colorado, but its popularity quickly spread thereafter. However, Navajo and Keres Native Americans have used the blue spruce for medicinal purposes (treating rheumatism, colds, and stomach ailments), ceremonial items, and good luck charms (gifting the twigs was a gesture of good luck).

LEAVES: Blue spruces have stiff, sharply spine-tipped, blue-green needles.

FRUIT/CONE/NUT/SEED: Blue spruces produce cylindrical, papery pine cones that are usually 2-4 inches long and light brown in color.

FLOWERS: The cone is considered the "flower" of the blue spruce, and it produces both male and female cones on the same tree.

BARK: The bark is gray, thick, and slightly scaly, breaking into furrows and rounded ridges.

HEIGHT: Blue spruces can attain heights of 30-60 feet.

USES: Aside from use as a Christmas tree, the blue spruce is not often harvested for lumber or wood - it doesn't grow abundantly in nature and the wood is brittle and often full of knots. It is more often used for ornamental landscaping. The blue spruce doesn't usually do as well as other types of evergreens in the Midwest, but can be grown with the right environment and care.

SOURCES:

https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_pipu.pdf

https://extension.usu.edu/forestry/tree-identification/spruces/blue-spruce#:~:text=Blue%20or%20Colorado%20Spruce&text=Leaves%3A%20Needles%20borne%20singly%3B%20about,twig%3B%20very%20fragrant%20when%20crushed.

https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/blue-spruce/

https://shop.arborday.org/colorado-blue-spruce

https://www.bellarmine.edu/faculty/drobinson/bluspruce.asp#:~:text=This%20tree%20was%20first%20discovered,forms%20on%20new%20young%20needles.

http://naeb.brit.org/uses/species/2936/