When should you plant a blue spruce?
Unlike many plants, its best to plant blue spruce during the dormancy period of November to March. Planting during cold temperatures allows the blue spruce to develop roots for the spring season. Choose a site with full sun, loose draining soil, and plenty of elbow room.
How far apart should I plant my blue spruce?
Plant trees in full sun from spring to summer in well-drained, slightly acidic, humus-rich, moist ground. Space specimen trees 20 to 30 feet apart.
What kind of soil does a blue spruce need?
The Colorado blue spruce adapts well to many soils—growing in acidic, loamy, moist, rich, sandy, well-drained and clay soils. It requires normal moisture with moderate tolerance to flooding and drought.
How often should you water a blue spruce?
However, during periods of drought, be sure to give your blue spruce a good soaking with the garden hose to the tune of about 1 inch of water per week. A deep watering once per week is much better than a shallow watering four to five times per week.
Are blue spruce roots invasive?
Depending upon the size of your spruce, you’ll find most of the roots in the top 12-18″ of soil, extending out at least as far as the branch tips. Typically the roots are not invasive, but it depends upon how close the tree is planted to them.
How fast do blue spruce trees grow?
30 to 60 years
The Colorado blue spruce grows at a slow to medium rate, according to the Arbor Day Foundation, although it picks up a bit as it gets older. This blue spruce grows from 12 to 24 inches a year. So it will require 30 to 60 years for a Colorado blue spruce to grow from seed to 60 feet tall.
What kills blue spruce trees?
By far the most common complaint of cultivated blue spruces is needle cast disease, mostly that caused by the fungus Rhizospaera kalkhoffii. It infects young needles and overwinters on living or recently killed foliage. During the growing season, the spores spread to other branches, or other trees, by splashing water.