Characteristics
- Scientific name: Picea pungens
- Family: Pine family (Pinaceae)
- Growth type: evergreen conifers
- Synonym: stinging spruce
- Growth: 15 cm to 40 cm per year
- Growth height: 10 m to 35 m
- Leaf: blue-green needles
- Roots: Shallow roots
- Flower: cones
- Fruit shape: cone
- Hardiness: hardy
- Usage: Christmas tree, firewood, windbreak
Blue spruce growth per year
The annual increase in one blue spruce depends primarily on whether it is the original species in the forest or a variety from the tree nursery. This growth per year can be expected on average:
- Original species in Central Europe: 30 cm to 60 cm
- Variety from the nursery: 20 cm to 40 cm
- Dwarf varieties from garden centers or hardware stores: 2 cm to 3 cm
also read
- Blue spruce or Nordmann fir as a Christmas tree? - A decision aid
- These pests are targeting blue spruce - tips for combating them
- Is my tree a pine or a spruce?
root
How do the roots of a blue spruce grow? This is an important question before planting in a pot or bed. All spruces are flat-rooted. This also applies to Picea pungens and their cultivated forms. However, this property does not involve any significant risk of windthrow. In fact, the spruce likes to make itself useful as a windbreak tree.
cones
In view of a long life expectancy of several hundred years, the blue spruce takes its time before the first cones dangle from the branches. The first flowering can be expected from the age of 30 years. Norway spruces are monoecious coniferous trees of the same sex. Where and how the cone-shaped flowers and fruits develop depends on the gender. Read important details here:
- female flowers: light pink to light red cones only in the upper crown
- male flowers: yellowish cones with a reddish tinge throughout the crown
- fruit: from August/September brown, later straw-colored cones with a length of 6 cm to 11 cm
In contrast to standing pinecone the cones of blue spruce hang from the stable, tiered branches.
use
Hobby gardeners like to plant a blue spruce in a pot and bed for use as a Christmas tree. Soft spruce wood is less suitable for use as firewood. In contrast to hardwoods such as beech or oak, the calorific value is significantly lower. However, it dries properly stored spruce wood in a record time of one year and burns like tinder, so fireplace owners use the wood mainly as a kindling.
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Plant blue spruce
Anyone who owns a blue spruce in a pot has a magnificent Christmas tree ready for use on the balcony and terrace every year. As a solitaire in the bed, the spruce is festively decorated at Christmas time. You can find out how to plant a blue spruce correctly in the following sections:
Plant blue spruce in a pot
The blue spruce is planted in a pot the size of which gives the root ball two to three fingers of space up to the edge of the pot. Holes in the bottom act as a water drain. Cover the bottom of the pot with drainage made of potsherds or expanded clay.(€19.00 at Amazon*) As a substrate, we recommend high-quality potting soil without peat. If available, mix in 1/3 mature leaf compost as an organic starter fertilizer. Ideally, add a few handfuls expanded clay added to optimize permeability.
Water the freshly planted spruce with rainwater until the tray fills up. Pour away any accumulated irrigation water after 10 minutes to prevent waterlogging.
Planting in the bed
Best planting time is in autumn. Dig a pit that is wider than it is deep. Measure the excavation in such a way that you can spread the roots out in the loose, humus-rich soil without any effort or kinks. Press the soil down to close the roots without air holes. Finally, thoroughly muddy the root disc. Drought stress is the most common cause of a planted blue spruce not growing.
Location
The following criteria characterize the right location:
- light: sunny to shady (in partially shaded locations the blue spruce grows irregularly and needles)
- In the pot: two-week acclimatization in a partially shaded location recommended
- In the bed: plant in nutrient-rich, humus-rich soil, fresh to sandy-dry and well-drained
- PH value: acidic to alkaline, ideally 6.8 to 7.2
For use as a Christmas tree in a pot, the blue spruce becomes a vagabond. In the bright stairwell or in the cool, temperate conservatory, you can get the conifers used to the cozy, warm living room for a week. There you choose a location at a generous distance from active radiators. After the holidays, the blue spruce makes another stopover in the stairwell or conservatory.
digression
Nordmann fir or blue spruce as a Christmas tree?
Caring for blue spruce
The blue spruce is very easy to care for. In the bed, the conifer is content with the natural rainfall. If you have planted the spruce in a pot, keep the substrate slightly moist. The sunnier the location, the more often there is a need for watering. Make your blue spruce palatable for the tricky time as a Christmas tree indoors by spraying the needles several times a week.
How to correct the conifers fertilize and multiply successfully, the following lines explain. What to do when the blue spruce needles, read in comprehensible, compact tips.
Gloves are mandatory
The blue spruce is as beautiful as it is scratchy. With sharp, square, hard needles, the spruce lives up to its name and leaves behind painful skin injuries. Please wear thorn-proof gloves for all planting and care work.
Fertilize
In the bed, fertilize a spruce in March with leaf compost or compost soil. Spread the organic fertilizer on the root disc, carefully rake in the material and water again. Potted blue spruces receive a liquid in March and June conifer fertilizer.
multiply
Propagation with cuttings, more precisely with cracklings, is quick and easy. In early spring, tear off one or more annual, non-woody shoot tips. The lateral shoots in the lower half of the cuttings are removed. Place a crackling, including the tongue of bark, two-thirds into coconut soil or growing substrate.(€7.00 at Amazon*) In the course of the summer, the first roots form in the bright, warm location. Spray the cuttings regularly with rainwater and keep the soil constantly slightly moist.
Blue spruce needles - Why? - What to do?
Diseases, pests and location problems can cause problems for a blue spruce. The following table provides an overview of common causes and other symptoms with practical tips for countermeasures:
| cause | Scientific name | Symptoms before needle ejection | What to do? |
|---|---|---|---|
| spruce needle rust | Chrysomyxa | yellowish-orange-brown spots on the needles, witches' brooms | control pH value, mulch, pour nettle liquid manure |
| bark beetle | Scolytinae | Holes in the bark, piles of drill dust, resin flow | Felling wood, preventing bark beetles |
| Sitka spruce aphid | Elatobium abietinum | yellowish-brown needles | ladybug promote, spray potash soap solution |
Popular Varieties
- Glauca: most popular blue spruce as a Christmas tree, blue-green needles, light brown cones, height of growth 10 m to 20 m.
- Blue Mountain: monumental spruce, 15 m to 20 m tall, blue-green, pointed needles.
- Fat Albert: shines with light blue needles, pyramidal crown and a growth height of up to 12 m.
- Edith's blue spruce: Garden suitable variety with 5 m to 6 m stature height and 15 cm to 30 cm growth per year.
- Nimetz: Dwarf spruce, 80 cm to 100 cm tall, steel-blue needles creamy white when they sprout.
- Fat Mac: cute mini blue spruce, 50 cm tall, blue-green needles and spherical growth habit.
FAQ
What is the difference between blue fir and blue spruce?
There is no difference. Colloquially, the blue spruce is often referred to as blue fir because of its blue-green to steel-blue, four-edged needles and an even, conical crown. In fact, they are evergreen conifers of the genus spruce (Picea).
Is the blue spruce poisonous to cats?
No, the blue spruce is not poisonous to cats. However, the hard, sharp needles are for little ones cat stomachs indigestible. If a blue spruce needles as a Christmas tree, first sweep up all fallen needles before your darling is allowed to enter the room on velvet paws.
red spruce vs. Blue Spruce - What are the Differences?
With a growth height of up to 60 meters, the red spruce (Picea abies) is, alongside the silver fir (Abies alba), the largest tree in Europe. The pointed, evergreen needles are 1 to 2 cm long, the cones reach a length of 10 to 15 cm. In contrast, a blue spruce grows 10 to 35 meters tall and has an evergreen foliage of 2 to 3 cm long blue needles. Their woody, brown cones are 6 to 11 cm long.
Is the blue spruce an allergy tree?
Every year allergy sufferers report the torment of a Christmas tree allergy. In fact, indoor blue spruce, Nordmann fir, and other coniferous trees can produce harmful molds. Their spores cause headaches, irritation in the eyes, coughing and chronic nasal congestion in allergy sufferers.
Can you fell a blue spruce on private property?
In Germany, felling trees on private property is subject to various regulations. In principle, tree felling is permitted between 01.01. October and 28 February, provided that the wood is not used as winter quarters for wild animals. If these premises are met, you may fell coniferous trees with a trunk diameter of up to 100 cm on your private property in accordance with the tree protection statute.
Which is the most popular Christmas tree: blue spruce or Nordmann fir?
The sales figures in Germany speak for themselves. With a market share of a whopping 70 percent, the Nordmann fir is the most popular Christmas tree. Decisive criteria are soft, dark green needles and durability. When a Nordmann fir loses its first needles, the scratchy blue spruce has long since been in the living room without its needles.