Colorado Spruce

		*Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens)* is a hardy and adaptable evergreen tree. A native, it was named the official state tree of Colorado in 1939. Its growth habit can be dwarf, weeping, broad, columnar (at right) or pyramidal with branches that are not usually limbed up but allowed to reach the ground. Hardy to zone 2, this evergreen prefers well-drained soil and full sun, especially the blue types which may lose their color when grown in shade. It grows 30-60 feet in height and 20-30 feet in width. Adaptable to a wide range of conditions, it will tolerate poor, clay, rocky, and dry soils of acidic, neutral or alkaline pH. It is especially drought tolerant and accepting of urban pollution.

		Foliage is evergreen, consisting of needles that are 4-sided, stiff, in-curved and prickly. They can be green to bluish-green and persist for 7 to 10 years.

		Flowers are both male and female (monoecious) on the same tree. Female are usually found in the upper branches of the tree, and male the lower branches. The male flowers, or pollen cones, are yellowish-brown in color.

		Cones are 4 to 6 inches long, cylindrical, and tapering slightly at the tips. A shiny chestnut brown, they mature in fall. The cone scales are pointed and irregularly toothed.

		Seeds are winged, with two per scale.

		Bark is relatively thin, gray to brown, with moderate ridges and scales.

Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens)