This liquid is also used externally for rheumatic pains. In traditional medicine, an infusion of the needles is used to treat colds and settle the stomach. The Navajo and Keres Native Americans use this tree as a traditional medicinal plant and a ceremonial item, and twigs are given as gifts to bring good fortune. 'Sester's Dwarf' – denser foliage than the species, slowly grows to about 6–8 feet (1.8–2.4 m) tall.'Glauca Pendula' – drooping branches, spreads to about 8 feet (2.4 m) wide by 4 feet (1.2 m) tall.'Fat Albert' – compact perfect cone to 10 feet (3.0 m) of a silver blue color.'Glauca Globosa' agm – shrub from 3–5 feet (0.91–1.52 m) in height.Cultivars Ĭommon cultivars (those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit): It also increases the root concentration in drip irrigation pipeline from 40% to 60%, which is an advantage in landscape greening. Five years before transplanting, the total root surface area of 2-meter-high trees was doubled by pruning the roots of blue spruce. Despite the shallow roots, blue spruce is able to resist strong winds. Shadows in late spring and early autumn minimize this frost heaving loss. Although freezing can't damage much in blue spruce, frost will cause seedling loss. Rooting habits īlue spruce seedlings have shallow roots that penetrate only 6.4 cm (2.5 inches) of soil during the first year. Meanwhile, patches of white resin appear on the bark and the branch eventually dies. The first symptom is the needles turning reddish-brown and falling off. Canker caused by Cytospora attacks one of the lower branches first and progressively makes its way higher up the tree. Various rust diseases also affect the tree causing yellowing of the needles as well as needle fall. The blue spruce is susceptible to several needle casting diseases which cause the needles to turn yellow, mottled or brown before they fall off. It often first attacks trees which have blown over by the wind and when the larvae mature two years afterwards, a major outbreak occurs and vast numbers of beetles attack nearby standing trees. Another insect pest is the spruce beetle ( Dendroctonus rufipennis) which bores under the bark. Mites can also infest the blue spruce, especially in a dry summer, causing yellowing of the oldest needles. An elongated white scale insect, the pine needle scale feeds on the needles causing fluffy white patches on the twigs and aphids also suck sap from the needles and may cause them to fall and possibly dieback. The larva of the spruce budworm eat the buds and growing shoots while the spruce needle miner hollows out the needles and makes them coalesce in a webbed mass. Nymphs of the pineapple gall adelgid form galls at the base of twigs which resemble miniature pineapples and those of the Cooley's spruce gall adelgid cause cone-shaped galls at the tips of branches. The blue spruce is attacked by two species of Adelges, an aphid-like insect that causes galls to form. 'Mission Blue' blue spruce new growth in spring Pests and diseases It is also grown for the Christmas tree industry. Picea pungens and its many cultivars are often grown as ornamental trees in gardens and parks. The blue spruce is the state tree of Colorado. The specific epithet pungens means "sharply pointed", referring to the leaves. This helps to facilitate cross-pollination. Male cones are found on the entire tree, whereas the female cones are found at the top of the tree. The pale brown cones are up to 10 cm (4 in) long. Waxy gray-green leaves, up to 3 cm (1 in) long, are arranged radially on the shoots which curve upwards. It has scaly grey bark on the trunk with yellowish-brown branches. It is a columnar or conical evergreen conifer with densely growing horizontal branches. The tree can grow larger if the tip is cut when it is at least 3 years old. In the wild, Picea pungens grows to about 23 m (75 ft), but when planted in parks and gardens it seldom exceeds 15 m (49 ft) tall by 5 m (16 ft) wide. The blue spruce has blue-green colored needles and is a coniferous tree. It has been widely introduced elsewhere and is used as an ornamental tree in many places far beyond its native range. It is found naturally in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. It is native to North America, and is found in USDA growing zones 1 through 7. The blue spruce ( Picea pungens), also commonly known as green spruce, Colorado spruce, or Colorado blue spruce, is a species of spruce tree.
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