Do I need to stake this Colorado Blue Spruce?
mcoppedg
8 years ago
Just picked up this Colorado Blue Spruce in a 2.5 gal container pretty cheap. The leader is weeping to one side so I assume I can just stake to have it grow upright? What happens if I leave it and let it grow like it is? I assume it wasn't mislabled but the others I have seen were growing upright without staking. (Sorry for the night photos with flash)
Thanks,
Matthew in Zone 7
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (10)
mcoppedg
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
Not planting until late fall. From lowes, listed on tag and sticker as Picea Pungens Glauca. It has certainly not lost it's leader, must just be the picture. The leader is the one to the right in pics #1 & #3 and to the left in pic #2. I became curious about it because it seems all the branches are kind of weeping, especially the bottom ones.I would love for it to be a weeping blue spruce, but where I plant is kind of dependent on whether it's an upright or weeping.
Related Discussions
Watering Colorado Blue Spruce Trees
Comments (7)mary, from the USDA Plants Database, Blue Spruce grow in places with minimum rainfall of 20" per year. If the elevation you are at has less than that you should consider additional watering even after 2 yrs, especially during hot dry summer months. That said I live way down here in hot dry Tx and know nothing about Colorado Blue Spruce in Z5 except it won't flourish down here! Also you might check to see what others in your area are doing with similar trees. All my trees are rated for the average rainfall of this area, but I will water those in the yard monthly if we are extra hot/dry during June - Sept. It helps to take some of the stress off of them. Good luck....See MoreGrowing Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) in a container
Comments (5)This is a question I have asked over the years and the answer I got more or less each time was yes. Depending on how large a specimen you wanted, and depending on how large a pot you had, you could have pretty much anything you wanted in a pot. Three keys: **Proper soil in the pot. It must drain FAST. It would also benefit it to have occasional nutrients added. There are a number of ways to do this. **Super cold protection. Since the roots are more exposed to the air temperature in a pot(even a big one), they need to be protected from extreme hot and cold weather. This may be an issue for you in 5b. It's not for me in 7b. Frequent watering. Since a pot-bound plant cannot 'search' for water over a large area(in the ground), it will need more frequent watering then the same plant in the ground. During hot stretches, I have been watering my potted conifers about 2-3 times a week. So far, all of my plants are relatively small and in huge pots compared to their current size. I have a couple '100 gallon' pots with very large upright conifers in them that I am hopeful will be OK for about 10-15 years. After that I'm sure I'll have to plant them in the ground(that's going to be fun to move then - yikes!). A dwarf conifer would be easy to pot. Also keep in mind the price for conifers is cheap compared to how long you'll enjoy them. Why spend $20 on a movie you might not like and maybe won't remember in five years if you won't spend $20 on a neat conifer that will only add character and be fun to watch grow over your lifetime. Picea pungens 'St. Mary' would be a good one in a 10-20 gallon pot. Hope that helps! Will...See MoreSpacing Colorado Blue Spruce Trees
Comments (6)on reviewing my thoughts .... a block is a block.. it serves a purpose.. and it may or may not be best for the plants ... but the plants are secondary to the purpose ... but.. in regard to the plants ... in the long run ... in regard to the various diseases of MATURE blue spruce ... i am talking 30 to 50 years down the line ... spacing them out would probably be better ... to increase sunshine and air movement ... etc ... i hope that explains it better ... and if you like the xmas tree idea .. dont forget.. you can cut the top 6 feet off a 20 foot tree ... ken...See MoreNon-Blue-colored Colorado Spruce?
Comments (12)Thank you all for the response. I don’t mean to be so picky, but I do love the look of Colorado spruce, if only it weren’t for that blue. There just seems to be too much of it [the blue color] at least in my area. Maybe I’ll have to shop around in person someday, though that may not happen for a while given that we live far from any real nurseries at all, making it a bit more difficult to travel and look. Thus, I’ve found it easier to browse online—even if only to find the right cultivar/name/etc., then mark it on the list and find it later if we do go to a nursery. Though that method seems to work for other trees, this case seems to be the exception... One problem seems to be (as was mentioned above,) that the trees can be specifically selected against having green foliage in some cases. In other cases, such as this example: http://www.2gmn.com/nursery/pc/Colorado-Green-Spruce-c223.htm They do list both “green” and “blue” spruces... I know the photo might not be an exact representation of the end product, but I wonder if it, along with the description of “silvery-blue needles,” seems to show their intent? If it was the case that it had some blue to it, then I might not be so inclined to trust others that are also labeled as “Colorado Green Spruce.” Once again, though, at this point shopping around in-person may be the only option left. I still can’t help but imagining a selected cultivar with a nice growth habit and a deep, rich, dark-green, though......See Moremcoppedg
8 years agomcoppedg
8 years agoKen,
So I looked a little closer and it looks like the longer left and right branches/leader actually both grew from the main trunk and both are growing and spreading outwardly as you can see in the other photos. Any thoughts?
mcoppedg
8 years agoBetter photos attached. As I mentioned in the last message, it looks like the top two branches both grew up where a leader would normally grow and are both growing outwardly in opposite directions. Not sure if this is normal or not. Might they continue to grow this way while the tree gets taller and spreads out?
mcoppedg
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoPerfect. Will plan to do this in the fall. Also, I just found a photo I had taken at lowes a couple months ago of a colorado blue spruce. The one I purchased was from another lowes, but they certainly seem to have a different upright vs weeping growth pattern. I tend to agree the one I have seems to be a pendula, I guess we will see in the future! Thanks!
davidrt28 (zone 7)
8 years ago
Related Stories
ARCHITECTUREArchitectural Salvage Stakes a Claim
No need to hit the junkyard. Gorgeous salvage finds are now showing up in mainstream stores — and stylish interiors
Full Story
GARDENING GUIDESGreat Design Plant: Globe Thistle
Trot out globe thistle in a sun-drenched garden spot for strikingly sculptural blue flowers through October
Full Story
LANDSCAPE DESIGN10 Evergreens for Beautiful Foliage All Year
Give your landscape consistent color and structure with the emeralds, chartreuses and blues of evergreen trees and shrubs
Full Story
GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING10 Imaginative Garden Ideas
Create a perfect corner in your garden with little more than a weekend and some imagination
Full Story
HOUZZ TOURSHouzz Tour: Laid-Back Comfort in the New York Woods
Expanded for a family, this unpretentious cabin puts a fresh face on rustic sensibility
Full Story
WINTER GARDENINGInspiring Winter Scenes From the Denver Botanic Gardens
Use seed heads, bare branches and grasses to design lovely garden displays when the ground is frozen
Full Story
GARDENING GUIDESGreat Design Plant: Larix Decidua ‘Pendula’
Soft, graceful and sculptural, weeping larch is a star in northern U.S. gardens
Full Story
GARDENING AND LANDSCAPINGBudget Decorator: 10 Ways to Deck Out Your Patio
Hang a vintage sign here and some inexpensive curtains there, for a patio or deck that looks polished and pulled together
Full Story
GARDENING GUIDESSimple Pleasures: Savor the First Spring Day in the Garden
How will you answer the call of the garden once the birds are chirping, the bulbs are blooming and the air is inviting?
Full Story
EARTH DAY‘Terroir’ Brings a Sense of Place to Your Landscape
Species native to and characteristic of your region firmly root your garden and landscape
Full StorySponsored
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5