Colorado Spruce

Picea pungens (Pinaceae) is an evergreen conifer native to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. It grows to 75 feet tall with a dense, pyramidal form and stiff, sharp needles that range from green to silvery blue depending on provenance and cultivar. The species name "pungens" refers to the painfully sharp needle tips.

Colorado spruce tolerates drought, alkaline soils, and cold better than most spruces. It grows in full sun. Blue-foliaged selections are widely planted as ornamental specimens. In humid climates, the species is prone to Rhizosphaera needle cast and Cytospora canker, which can severely disfigure mature trees. Spider mites are also problematic in warm, dry conditions. Hardy in Zones 3a to 8b.