You can definitely grow blue spruce here but you have to take a few extra steps to ensure they are successful. I am still a novice as I'm in just my second year of growing spruce here. I have both blue and Norway spruce growing in full sun. Of course trying to get new trees established in last summers heat was difficult, I was able to get one of my blue's through it. Once established they are much better able to handle the heat. I planted all mine on top of the clay soil and brought in 2000 lbs of good loam to build a berm around the rootball. This will give it the drainage it needs to get started. Be sure to have a thick layer of mulch to keep roots cooler Plant now or as soon as possible, and assuming we get a normal summer you should be good. Stick to good cultivars like hoopsi, fat Albert, or bakeri which are all easy to find here.

My hoopsi
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My bakeri
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My Norway spruce
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My columnar Norway spruce
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Forgot to mention, globosa and Montgomery blue spruce also do just fine here. I don't have any (yet) but have seen them grow from full sun to partial shade. Just make sure the soil is good and much heavily. Water once a week, enjoy.

if i were you ...

i would start first by removing the grass from around your trees.. and lower the soil level to the trunk/root interface ...

then i would design and build the foundation beds .... and they would be at least 6 feet deep [away from the house.. not down.. lol] all around ...

then i would start thinking about what kind of plants.. or conifers ... that i would put into the scape ...

conifers are trees.. and frankly they NEVER stop growing.. presuming they dont die ... the important thing to learn is the sub-heading Conifer Sizes .. and learn all about annual growth rates ....

most conifers will grow too big .. to be put too close to the house... but its just a matter of how many years it will take.. to get too big.. [and that is why we need to define the space you want to fill, by designing the bed first]

most size estimates you read.. are at 10 years.. and by 20 years.. they will be twice as big ....

after all that.. when you finally get to planting.. be sure to come back and learn/ask about PROPER PLANTING ... PROPER MULCHING.. and PROPER AFTERCARE ...

unlike cheap perennials/annuals.. we can not simply stick them in the ground and forget ...

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Just a quick note and I don't mean to hy-jack you thread canokie.

Speaking about to close to the house as I observe greatplainsturf Picea abies and pungens cultivars a red flag goes up. The columnar Norway spruce Picea abies 'Cupressina' is way to close to the house. I would relocate that one for more room.

Dave

GPS, I'd definitely move that 'Cupressina' like in the next couple months (if not now if you can). The abosulute min. should be 5' from the centerline of the plant to the house. Not only is space an issue but the heat of the brick will FRY that plant right up for ya!

Funny I knew this would be posted when I put this picture up. This was taken the day I got it. I have since moved it to 5' from the hose to allow more room. It was 3' in this pic even though ot looks closer. You guys are on top of things.

Hi GreatPlainsTurf,

Thank you so much for your helpful reply - and for sharing pictures of your gorgeous trees! I especially love the Bakeri as it appears to be the narrowest of the blue spruces you have. My concern is how close I can plant the tree to the corner of the house. As you can see, my lot is pretty small, and I wanted to frame my house a bit with the trees. How tall and wide does the Bakeri usually get? The one I had been considering was Blue Totem but I don't see that one available around here so I don't know if it does well. Do you think the Bakeri would work for my purposes, and if so, how far from the southeast corner of the house (on your right when you are looking at the picture) would you plant it?

If I can get it in close to the fence and not too far from the corner of the house, it will be pretty well protected from north and west winds, and will also get some shade from the late afternoon sun, which I'm hoping will help. The Globosa I was hoping to plant near the door will also be sheltered due to the garage.

Hi Ken,

I keep trying to submit this message in response to your response to my question about choosing the right conifers, and it won't accept it unless I change the subject line. I hope this works...

Anyway, thank you for your response. Are you referring to my maples in the picture when you say to remove the grass and lower the soil level? If so, I am glad you mentioned that because I've been wondering about that. The builder left me with a volcano type thing around each of my trees, but from what I've been reading online, that is not necessarily the best thing for the tree. I was worried about causing more harm by removing the soil at this point, so I am glad to hear that you recommend this. I hate the way they look now as well as worrying that it is harming my maples.

As far as spacing, how close would be the closest I could plant a taller, columnal type spruce to the house? I was considering a Blue Totem but not sure if that is a good choice or not. I don't want to plant something that will need to be removed later, or that might damage the foundation, so I'd rather find out now, lol!

Thanks again for your helpful response.

above i wrote this:

conifers are trees.. and frankly they NEVER stop growing.. presuming they dont die ... the important thing to learn is the sub-heading Conifer Sizes .. and learn all about annual growth rates ....

it should have read this way:

conifers are trees.. and frankly they NEVER stop growing.. presuming they dont die ... CHECK OUT THE LINK BELOW ... the important thing to learn is the sub-heading Conifer Sizes .. and learn all about annual growth rates .... [and the link is in the prior reply]

you said in reply:

As you can see, my lot is pretty small, and I wanted to frame my house a bit with the trees. How tall and wide does the Bakeri usually get?

check out the new link below .... especially the pic there.... bakeri can grow up to one foot per year ... and unless you want to be cutting it down in 10 years.. it better be planted.. 8 to 10 feet from the house.. MINIMUM ... which again.. is why you need to define the garden bed.. before you start choosing plants ...

while at the first link.. look into the definition of a DWARF plant.. and should you want a plant that lasts in situ for more than 10 years.. you will HAVE TO get.. mail order... a conifer that grow less than 6 inches per year ...

ken

ps: if you insist on a large picea pungens.. look into Hoopsi ... and forget about the real old cultivar bakeri ... mine below with yearly growth notated ...
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Here is a link that might be useful: link

shoot.. it didnt let me link directly ...

in the genus box.. click once.. and hit P until you see picea... then hit submit...

then click species ... and hit p until you see pungens ... then hit submit..

then look for bakeri .... and click on VIEW

and then compare that pic with my pic ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: wonder if it will do it this time

Wait another month or so and more options will show up. I know for a fact that last year between TLC, Home Depot, and Lowes I saw both Blue Totem and the regular Fastigiate blue spruce. I don't know specifically how these cultivars do in OK, but they are available.

A couple of suggestions......

If you want something special or unusual then go to TLC on Memorial and ask for Marteen. He oversees all the trees for them and is always willing to order in anything you want if you are willing to wait for his next truck. Since they bring in a lot of Iseli product he can get you almost anything. And they are 100% guaranteed for 12 months. But they are also pricier than Home Depot, etc.

Second was about blue spruce in our area. The three mentioned above are the best spruces for handling our climate....Fat Albert, Hoopsi and Bakeri. The Bakeri is the narrowest form allthough it is the weakest of the three for our heat.

Depending on just how narrow you need you might also consider moving away from spruces and try a Cedrus atlantica 'Fastigiata'. Atlas cedars give you the blue color, are very adaptable in our heat and this particular variety takes a very narrow footprint. You can see them at Martinbird Tree Farm in south OKC.

But I will also say, if you do not get these trees in the ground in the next 2-4 weeks, then I would definately wait until next September - October. Your success at planting conifers in our climate in the spring or later is highly risky at best no matter what anyone tells you.

mark

You should draw out some type of a plan and then lay your design out with garden hose. I would do a couple larger beds maybe against the house/driveway. I wouldn't do random plantings. For the size of your lot, as ken said, you should mail order a dwarf.

May I suggest Picea pungens 'Sester's Dwarf'? It'll grow to about 4-5' high in 10 years. It's the bluest of the bluest... one of the best in my collection. The needles are very sharp, with makes it that much more interesting. I ordered 1 last fall and was so impressed I have another one on order for this spring.

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Rick,

I question this photo, which is well known, if this is a true representative of 'Sester Dwarf'. Growth habit seems correct but the color...

They tend to be steel blue to blue/green in color not bright blue. All other posted photos on the web represent this color also.

Can you post a photo of yours for comparison?

This I believe to be correct color.

Mid-summer photo.

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Spring flush.

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Here's mine dave, this is from my photos taken on 10-22-11. The one I posted above was the first one that came up in Google Images. It doesn't look like mine is as bright of a blue as the one above, but that could be a number of things. The older needles of mine are grenish blue... but the outer needles are pretty bright.

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Rick,

Healthy and the color good.

Hopefully it will send up a good central leader soon. I think I see the beginning of one dead center of the plant The one vigorous shoot on the left should bare watching. In a few years if not consumed by the rest of the plant you should consider retarding its growth. In fact you can begin that this spring as it adds new growth by candling back.

Dave

I live in tennessee and didn't know I wasn't supposed to grow conifers here.I started collecting ten years ago and have had only two losses.This was related to spider mites on young tree seedlings.If you raise the bed you can pretty much grow anything.I have piceas, pines, junipers, cedars. I have alot of picea pungens types as they are my favorites.There is a nursery in Ames Iowa called Evergreen Nursery that I went to collect at, it was 107 degrees that day last year in July.she said it was no problem either.Hope this helps.