Douglas County Conservation District                                                                         ~Helping People Help the Land~                                                                                                            

by promoting projects through education to further the long- term sustainable   use of natural resources balancing the needs of agriculture and urban growth

                

                                                                            PO Box 688, 7519 E. Hwy 86, Franktown, CO 80116

Home
DISTRICT INFO
EDUCATION / INFO
EVENTS
FINANCIAL ASSIST
NOXIOUS WEEDS
PRODUCTS
SCHOLARSHIPS
SEEDLING TREES
SERVICES
WATERSHED DAMS

Colorado Blue Spruce
Picea pungens           

Wildlife Value

Food value for grouse, and various finches including crossbills, siskins, and nuthatches and by gray squirrels.  Provide excellent nesting, roosting, and winter cover for numerous small birds.  Deer will browse on blue spruce although it is not a preferred forage.  Native to Rocky Mountains of the United States.

Growth form conical
Crown density dense
Size 60 to 100' high
15 to 35' spread
Drought
resistance		 fair
Cold hardiness excellent
Growth rate slow
Life span long
Elevation
range		 to 9,500 feet
Soil
conditions		 fair alkaline tolerance; usually on moist soils but will do well on drier sites with supplemental water.
Possible insect
problems		 pine needle scale, tussock moth, terminal weevil, gall aphids
Possible disease 
problems		 Valsa canker, spruce witches broom
Wildlife value high:  song and ground birds and grouse; hoofed and small borers
Seasonal color bluish evergreen
Miscellany native; Colorado's state tree; high ornamental value