Variety Descriptions
Colorado Blue Spruce
PICEA PUNGENS
Height 35 – 55'
Width 15 – 20'
Zone 2 – 7
Shape Dense pyramid
Needles Bluish-green
Colorado Blue Spruce is a popular spruce due to its bluish needle color. Color does vary more than other spruce varieties giving the landscape nice variety. Native to North America it has been introduced successively in many other areas as an ornamental and windbreak tree. Because of their color and dense foliage they are often used as Christmas trees. The needles are about one inch long on branches that curve upward. Light brown cones grow throughout the entire tree. The Blue Spruce grows best with abundant moisture but survives drought and extremely low winter temperatures better than most other spruce varieties. It is advised that Colorado Blues not be planted closer than 20 feet apart. Good separation allows good air movement and prevents Cytospora fungus from causing needle browning and dropping as the trees grow larger and older.
Seed source: Kiabab National Forest, Arizona.
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Black Hills Spruce
PICEA GLAUCA DENSATA
Height 35 – 45'
Width 15 – 20'
Zone 2 – 5
Shape Upright, Conical
Needles Green - Slightly blue
The Black Hills Spruce is closely related to the White Spruce (but not related to the Black Spruce). It is naturally occurring in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. It is the slowest growing of all the varieties. It makes an excellent windbreak because of its dense foliage. They are very cold tolerant and withstand needle blight well. Branches are ascending from the trunk with short needles (3/4 inch). It is probably the second most popular spruce to be planted in the Midwest.
Seed source: Black Hills of South Dakota.
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White Spruce
PICEA GLAUCA
Height 60 – 90'
Spread 10 – 15'
Zone 2 – 6
Shape Broad pyramid
Needles Light Green to Green
The White Spruce, when young, has a broad dense shape becoming more narrow and with age. It's foliage ranges from light green to bluish green. It prefers full sun and moist, well drained soil. White Spruce is one of the most environmentally tolerant spruces. It can withstand wind, heat, cold, drought and light shade. Use as a stand alone ornamental, or in windbreaks and hedges.
Seed source: Upper Michigan
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Black Spruce
PICEA MARIANA
Height 30' – 50'
Spread 20' – 30'
Zone 2 – 6
Shape Upright, Narrow, Conical
Needles Blue-green
The Black Spruce is a slower growing variety of spruce reaching heights of about 50 ft. It tolerates drought but will do better than most in wetter soils. Its needles are short, dark bluish-green, and about one half inch long. The dark purple cones are the smallest of all the spruce varieties, forming only at the top of the tree. Not commonly used for landscaping, Black Spruce is a good choice to replace drowned out evergreens in windbreaks. It is native to North America and hardy into zone 2.
Norway Spruce
PICEA ABIES
Height 60' – 100'
Spread 25' – 30'
Zone 2 – 7
Shape Pyramidal
Needles Bright green
Norway Spruce is the fastest growing spruce averaging 2 feet of growth a year when young. A tall, hardy, versatile spruce, the Norway serves well as a stand alone landscaping tree or as a windbreak tree. Originating in Europe, Norway Spruce is well adapted to the United States and Canada generally living well over 100 years. Its needles are up to 1 inch long and the cones are the longest of all spruce varieties at 4 to 6 inches.
Serbian Spruce
PICEA OMORIKA
Height 50' – 60'
Spread 20' – 25'
Zone 4 – 7
Habit Narrow, Pyramid
Foliage Glossy green
The Serbian Spruce is a beautiful, dense, narrow pyramid with graceful pendulous branches. Its needles are flat, shiny green above and whitish underneath. The two toned needles are very showy as the branches move in the wind exposing the white undersides. Plants grow best in full sun or partial shade on moist, well drained soils. Serbian Spruce is adaptable to most soil types. The narrow habit makes it useful for many sites. It is considered one of the finest landscape evergreens.
Seed source: Slovenia
Ponderosa Pine
PINE PONDEROSA SUBSP SCOPULORUM
Height 60 – 80'
Spread 25 – 30'
Zone 3 – 7
Habit Pyramidal
Foliage Dark to Yellowish Green
Ponderosa Pine is a tall narrow long lived pine good for shelter belts and windbreaks. Ponderosa's tends to lose their lower branches as they age.. Needles are in clusters of two, sometimes three and vary in color from dark green to yellowish-green. Cones are 3–5 in. long Best planted in full sun and moist, well drained soil. Adaptable to dry and alkaline sites. It's natural growing area is from southern Canada into Mexico, and from the Plains States of Nebraska and Oklahoma to the Pacific Coast but grows well east into Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. TriState Trees plants the central High Plains subspecies with seeds from the Black Hills of South Dakota.
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