Colorado Spruce

[cam]

I recently had a green Colorado Spruce planted in the front yard and a few days ago came across an article published in treehelp.com. Is this just one particular person's opinion? I always felt it was in fact one of the hardiest and popular evergreens on the market.
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Comments...
Colorado Spruce is often present in landscapes in the form of one of its cultivars with bluish foliage. The tree does not deserve its popularity. It becomes a very tall, blue tower, decorated with galls at the branch tips as canker diseases disfigure the tree at an early age. The tree should be enjoyed while young but should not be considered permanent. Consider using bluish cultivars of Abies concolor or Pseudotsuga menziesii as a substitute
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[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[Stumper]

Hmmph, I don't recall ever seeing a canker problem on Spruce-blue or otherwise. Tip galls-sure. Those are caused by insects(Spruce gall adelgids). Generally speaking Spruce are quite hardy landscape trees. Locally we are having problems with Ips beetles and periodically, spider mite populations reach harmful levels. Perhaps that author's comments accurately reflect his local situation but Colorado spruce are nice trees that do quite well outside of their native habitat.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Just this afternoon I talked with a landscape contractor on a job I was pruning. We walked next door to look at some Colorado Spruces. Typical...rhysosphera, cytospera infested nasty looking trees. Like he said, the further you get from CO the worse the CO spruces look. They are a plague on the environment here in the Twin Cities. Better to plant hemlock, white spruce, Black Hills, but no more Blues.

Tom

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Like Tom's homeland, here in SE Wisconsin, Colorado Spruce are temporary. Just about the time they get to the size where they really look good, they start to disfigure and die, about 25 or 30 years old. Cytospera canker is bad enough, now we have Spruce Needle Drop affecting many of the spruce, including Colorado Spruce.

 

[Ax-man]

I agree 100% with TD and MM on using Col. Spruce in the landscape.

This tree is as popular today when it comes to choosing evergreens as it has been for the last 40 years.

In addition to the highly sought after blue color, the needles and the tight growth of the Col. Spruce have an appeal to the average evergreen tree buyer, the other Spruces just don't have the same appeal like the Colorado. It is the perfect living stererotype Christmas tree image people see growing in their yard.

This is a perfect example of the way we arborists tend to view and render our opinions on trees, versus the nursery trade and the consumer that buys the trees. Which do you think will win out?? The short term popular way or the long term, let's do it right the first time approach???

Larry

 

[wysiwyg]

Mike, what kind of spruces would you suggest for this area? I planted a bunch of Colorado and Black Hills a few years ago and was bummed when I read this thread.

 

[Heidel House]

White spruce for the dryer areas, black spruce for the wetter areas.

Dougfir is nice.

Scots pine, Siberian spruce, Tamerack, any dwarf from Rich's Foxwillow Pines in Woodstock, IL.

 

[NickfromWI]

Heidel House? That sounds like a girls name!!!

 

[Heidel House]

So many comebacks and none of them are within the forum guidlines

Dave says your going to be stopping by sometime soon there Mr. I Got a New Job With a Rope Company.

 

[OutOnaLimb]

Picea Pungens grow great here, Oh wait Im from Colorado. LOL. But if you are having problems with them up in your neck of the woods have you thought about using Engelman or Sitka spruce?

Kenn

 

[John Stewart]

Hey
The boys south of us are going to think we got nothing but issues up north if we keep this up!
Cooley spruce gall is a problem so just don't plant a Doug (pseudotsuga menziesii) near it as it is the alternate host for this critter
The other issue is it is sensitive to Dicamba poisoning. That is one of the chemicals in weed spray and when we get our usual summer droughts it's shallow roots will suck up any thing it can get including weed spray
Seeing it is green in variety you can dormant oil for the gall
These are great trees if you look after them
Try hoopsie variety they are ocean blue in color
See Ya Canuck
John