Colorado Blue Spruce

Picea pungens var. glauca

Pinaceae · conifer · introduced

Quick Facts

Height

10–15 ft

Growth Rate

Slow

Light

Sun to Part Shade

Soil

Well Drained

Water

Moderate

Hardiness

Zone Zones 3a–8b

Bloom Time

Non-flowering

Origin

the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, Wyoming to New Mexico

Phenological Calendar

Stage	Typical Window	What to Look For
New growth flush BBCH 11	Feb 15-Mar 15	Lighter-colored new growth visible at branch tips
Bloom start BBCH 61	May 1-May 31	First open flowers visible; flowers yellow
Bloom end / petal fall BBCH 69	May 15-Jun 15	Last petals falling; flower structures fading
Fruit/seed development BBCH 71	Jun 1-Aug 31	Fruit or seed structures forming; fruit color: brown
Fruit/seed maturity BBCH 85	Sep 1-Nov 30	Fruit fully colored and ripened; seed dispersal may begin

Diseases (16)

Thekopsora minima and Naohidemyces vaccinii Rust

Rhizosphaera Needle Cast

abiotic (spray oil residue) Oil Discoloration Of Foliage

Botrytis cinerea Botrytis Blight

Cylindrocarpon Root Rot

Cytospora canker Cytospora Canker

Several soilborne Damping-off

Many conifers Drought Injury

Heterobasidion Root Disease

Needle Distortion

Phytophthora spp. (P Phytophthora Root Rot

Schweinitzii root and butt rot

Sparassis Root Rot

Stem decay Stem Decay

Pests (15)

Pissodes strobi White pine weevil

Oligonychus ununguis Spruce spider mite

Spruce needleminer

Spruce bud scale

Chionaspis pinifoliae Pine needle scale

Orgyia pseudotsugata Douglas-fir tussock moth

Adelges cooleyi Cooley spruce gall adelgid

Carnation tortrix

Silverspotted tiger moth

Western webspinning sawfly