by Glory Lennon

Created on: February 05, 2010

Because there are many people who will look upon a Spruce tree and mistakenly call it a pine we connoisseurs of evergreens feel slighted on behalf of our beloved Spruces. They just don’t seem to get enough respect. The Spruce, botanically known as Picea, is a wonderful sun-loving evergreen with densely-packed, prickly needles, stiff symmetrical branching and pretty seed cones which dangle from the top most branches.

Spruces are super hardy plants that typically require very little pruning although they do look nice when trimmed for extra fullness. They are tolerant of poor, clay or rocky soils, moderate amounts of both drought and flooding and also extreme cold. With this in mind let us look at the different types of Spruce trees for the home landscape.

Colorado Blue Spruce ( P. pungens)

One of the most popular Spruces for the home landscape, Colorado Blue is famous for the silvery-blue-green colored needles on stiff horizontal branches which hold Mr. Robin’s nest quite easily in spring and makes a lovely outdoor Christmas tree in winter. Growing at a slow to medium rate 50-75 feet high, 25 feet wide and hardy to USDA zones 2-8, this tree has 3-4 inch long, light brown cones which show up on the uppermost branches.

Norway Spruce (P. abies)

The fastest to grow of all Spruces the pyramidal shaped Norway Spruce is hardy in USDA zones 3-7, gets to about 40-60 feet high and 25-30 wide. Cones are 1 1/ 2-2 inches wide and 4-6 long, branching is strong and graceful and covered with dark green needles. A row of these trees makes a great windscreens, is an important food source for many woodland critters and also for roosting hawks and owls.

Bird’s Nest Spruce (P. abies Nidiformis)

To look at the dwarf Bird’s Nest Spruce, which grows in a shrub form barely getting higher than 3 feet tall but with a spread to twice that, you would never guess it is a close relative of the tall Norway Spruce and yet botanically speaking you could not get closer. This slow grower is hardy to USDA zones 3-7, is rather flat topped and at times even has a depression in the center much like a bird’s nest giving it its common name. Soft foliage is densely packed on stiff branches and a dark green color. New needles emerge a lighter green in spring giving a glow to the plant. Perfect shrub for the front of borders, as foundation planting or makes a select specimen in a rock garden.

Serbian Spruce (P. omorika)

Growing 50-60 tall and 20-25 wide in USDA zones 4-7, this

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