Common Spruce trees in our area:

 

 

Colorado Blue Spruce:

123

 

    • Conifer, evergreen tree, 30-60(135) ft [9-18(41) m] tall, dense, narrow to broad pyramid, stiff horizontal branches to the ground, formal in outline. Needles spreading more or less all around the stem, more crowded above, stiff, stout, very prickly, 2-3 cm long, 4-sided, stomatic lines on each side, acid taste when chewed.  Foliage some variation of bluish-green.  Cones cylindrical, 5-10 long.
    • Sun.  Prefers rich, moist soil, but very adaptable.  More drought tolerant than other spruces.
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    • Hardy to USDA Zone 2      Native to the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, Wyoming to New Mexico.
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    • The color of the species, Picea pungens, varies from drab olive-green to bright silvery-blue.  The silvery-blue forms, Picea pungens var. glauca, are essentially the only ones selected for the ornamentals nursery trade.  Many cultivars have been selected from this general form and are propagated by grafting.  The Knap Hill nursery in Surrey, England, raised the first ones from cuttings in 1877 (Jacobson, 1996).
    • pungens: sharp pointed;   glauca: glaucous (covered with a waxy bloom).
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 Norway Spruce:

123

 

 

  • Conifer, evergreen tree, 40-60 ft (12-18 m) tall, pyramidal with drooping branches, stiff when young more, graceful later.  However, at maturity it may thin and be open, which some consider "unsightly".  Needles bright to dark green, stiff, sharp pointed, 12-25 mm long, arranged all around the stem, 4-sided with stomatal lines on each side.  Cones hang down, cylindrical, 10-15 cm long by about 4 cm wide, light brown at maturity.
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  • Sun.  Prefers moderately moist, sandy, acid, well-drained soil, grows in average soil if it has sufficient moisture.

 

  • Hardy to USDA Zone 2      Native to northern and central Europe.  Numerous cultivars (over 150!) have originated from mutations in this species, dwarf forms often developed from a "witches broom".  The typical 'Christmas Tree' in Britain.

 

 

 

Sitka Spruce:

123

 

  • Conifer, evergreen tree, 40-60(160) ft [12-18(49) m] tall, broadly conical with thin, horizontally spreading branches or swoop upward. Bark gray smooth, thin, becoming purplish-brown with scaly plates.  Needles stiff, 15-25 mm, on all sides of stem but parted on the underside of horizontal shoots, 4-sided but somewhat flattened (not square in cross-section), not that easily role between your fingers, sharp point, glossy green above, silvery-white below due to white stomatal lines on both lower surfaces.  (Note, P. pungens var. glauca, Colorado Blue Spruce, is silvery on both sides; i.e., has stomatal lines on all four surfaces.)  Cones cylindrical-oblong, 6-10 cm long.

 

    • Sun.  Prefers a moist to wet, sandy soil and cool, moist air (e.g., coastal fog belt).

 

    • Hardy to USDA Zone 7      Found along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to California, sometimes very near the ocean.
    • sitchensis: of Sitka, Alaska
     

 

 

 

 

White Spruce:

123

 

  • Conifer, evergreen tree, to 80 ft (24 m), tall and narrow in age.  Needles straight, stiff, 15-22 mm long, green to bluish-green, quadrangular in cross-section, 2-5 stomatal bands on each surface; unpleasant odor when crushed.  Cones cylindrical, slender, 3-6 cm long.

 

    • Sun, but tolerates some shade.  Tough, withstands wind, heat, cold, drought, and crowding; can be used as hedge.  Often found at the arctic tree line.

 

    • Hardy to USDA Zone 2    Native range from Alaska to Labrador, south into Montana, Minnesota, and New York.

 

 

 

 

Alberta Spruce:

23

 

  • Conifer, evergreen tree, shrub, dwarf, 10-12 ft (3-4 m), slow growing, become broadly conical with time.  Needles light green, densely set, only 6-12 mm long, and radiate around the stem.  Very common in cultivation.

 

  • Sun.  Shelter from hot or cold winds and strong reflected sunlight. Red spider mites are often a problem in dry heat.  Will occasionally revert to the species type, i.e., loss of dwarf habit, more open, and longer needles.

 

  • Hardy to USDA Zone 2      This natural dwarf was discovered in the wild in Alberta, Canada in 1904.  Several newer cultivars, e.g., 'Laurin' and 'Elegans Compacta', were derived from 'Conica

 

 

 

 

 

Common problems with Spruce trees:

 

 

Insects:

 

Spider Mites White Pine Weevil    




 
The spruce spider mite, Oligonychus ununguis (Jacobi) is a common pest of landscape conifers in Pennsylvania. This tiny eight-legged animal does best in the cool spring and fall weather with severe infestations causing discolored foliage, unthrifty looking plants and premature leaf drop. While feeding occurs in the fall and spring, often the damage does not become apparent until the heat of the summer.
Adult mite activity can be assessed by holding a white piece of paper under a branch and striking the branch three or four times to dislodge the mites. Spruce spider mites will appear as tiny black or gray-green spots moving slowly on the paper.

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The first sign of attack ranges from small, glistening droplets to resin oozing from tiny holes in the leader. This is caused by adult weevils that are feeding before egg-laying. As the terminal is girdled, the new shoot of the current year's growth withers and the tip bends over and turns brown. This stage of damage usually becomes noticeable about mid-June. Examination of the dead shoots will show the white larvae or pupae beneath the bark or in the wood and pitch. That year's growth is always killed, but two or three years of growth is commonly killed. The result is forked and crooked trees.

 

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Diseases:

 

     
   

 

 

    
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