The blue spruce is a popular Christmas tree. But it also cuts a fine figure in the garden and doesn't cause much work.
Blue spruce or stinging spruce has an elegant, pyramid-shaped silhouette and stands out from other tree species in the garden with a blue-grey needle dress. Picea pungens, as botanists call the blue spruce, has made a name for itself as a magnificent Christmas tree.
The blue spruce makes a good impression not only with baubles and candles in the festively decorated living room. Garden friends and plant lovers also like to see it in the garden, because the conifer is very shapely and just as undemanding. In the forest, blue spruce can live up to 600 years. There are even said to be spruce trees in central Sweden that are almost 1000 years old.
Origin of Blue Spruce
Spiny spruces are also known colloquially as blue firs. Their home is the mixed coniferous forests of the Rocky Mountains in the western United States. There they can be found at altitudes of 2000 to 3000 meters. The blue spruce is a refined form of the stinging spruce that has been around in Germany since 1885.
Prickly spruce can be found all over Europe today. Exceptions are the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula. Their spread extends into the Asian continent. The conifers love a damp, cool climate. In the northern hemisphere, spruce is found in the boreal coniferous forest. In southern climes it can be found in mountains. It grows in Bavaria at high altitudes in the low mountain ranges and in the Alps. It can also be found at the edge woods of bogs.
Special features of the spruce
The blue spruce is characterized by an irregular growth of the young crown, which develops into a straight trunk over the years. The branches grow horizontally and in evenly arranged levels. An adult, evergreen blue spruce can gain up to 20 or 30 centimeters in height and 10 to 15 centimeters in width in a year.
The beautiful contrast between the gray to black-brown scaly bark and the orange-colored twigs is very attractive. in theThe roots of the blue spruce spread out flat on the ground. It has needles about two to three centimeters long, which are silver-blue all year round and shine particularly intensely in July. The very pointed, slightly sickle-shaped and four-edged needles are densely packed on the branches. The flowers of the Norway spruce are inconspicuous, with the male flowers being yellow-reddish and the female flowers being pale green. Since the pine cones only develop from the female flowers, they are only found in the uppermost part of the tree crown.
The handsome pine cones are between four and ten centimeters long and slender. It is characteristic of all spruces that the cones hang on branches and fall off throughout the year as soon as they are ripe. They change color from green to a light shade of brown as they ripen from August.
| Blue Fir (Picea pungens) | |
|---|---|
| Growth Speed: | 20 - 30 cm a year |
| Growth: | 1,500 - 2,000 cm |
| Growth: | 600 - 800 cm |
| Root system: | Shallow roots |
| Location: | Sun to partial shade |
| Floor: | moderate |
Plant blue spruce
Best site and soil for Picea pungens
The blue spruce loves fresh soil which is nutrient rich. However, it will also grow in sandy soil and in humus rich, drained loamy soil. Heavy, clayey soil is not the right location, as prolonged wet soil will cause rot and root leaching. Norway spruce loves a sunny to partially shady location and also withstands dry phases in the summer months without much rain. The undemanding blue spruce can be planted in moderately acidic soil and calcareous terrain.
Planting blue spruce - step by step
Since blue spruces grow quite large, a reasonable distance to houses and other trees must be maintained. The conifers can be planted all year round - even on frost-free days in winter. However, the root ball grows best in spring and autumn.
First dig the planting hole. This should be twice the size of the root ball. Insert the log at ground level and backfill the hole with the excavation. The roots get better contact with the earth by gently treading down and muddling them in.
Hereonce again the planting at a glance:
1. Choose a location with sufficient distance to the house and other tree species
2. Dig out soil twice as big as the bale
3. Insert blue spruce
4. Fill the planting hole with the excavated material and step down5. water properly
Water the blue spruce correctly
Blue spruces are very undemanding. You don't need to water them much because they get water from the ground. However, if the spruce was planted in a pot, regular watering in small quantities is appropriate. The plant pot should be equipped with a drain so that no waterlogging can occur.
Fertilize blue spruce
Established blue spruce in the garden hardly needs any attention. One portion of complete fertilizer in spring is enough to provide the spruce with all the important nutrients. In contrast to other types of fir, the blue spruce can handle windy moments, dry periods and snowy days very well. Picea pungens feels particularly comfortable in acidic soil. However, the pH should not be below five or six. However, decaying spruce needles increase the humic acid content in the soil, causing it to become too acidic. You should therefore regularly measure the pH value in the soil.
Pruning blue spruce
Blue spruces do not need regular pruning. Because they grow perfectly in height and width. New shoots sprout from old wood without needles and then form a silver-grey needle dress. You should only use scissors when young blue spruce form two points. One of them is cut out directly at the base with the right tool.
Propagating blue spruce
Blue spruces are a special breed that is propagated in nurseries through grafting. The basis for this is the Picea pungens, the stinging spruce.
Pests and Diseases of Blue Spruce
One of the most common pests affecting blue spruce is the Sitka spruce aphid. If the spruce is infested, the needles first turn yellowish, then brown and then fall off en masse. In contrast to other aphids, the spruce tube aphid, as the Sitka spruce aphid is also known, is active all year round. The infestation occurs mainly in the spring on older branches inside the blue spruce. The Sitka spruce aphid can be combated with preparations containing rapeseed oil.
If the needles of the spruce turn brown for no apparent reason, drought damage ormagnesium deficiency. The latter is quickly remedied with Epsom s alt.