Habitat

• native to western North America
• both in Rocky Mountains and coastal regions
• zone 4

Habit and Form

• a large evergreen tree
• coniferous
• in its native haunts it grows to 150' tall or more
• landscape trees reach 60' to 80' tall with 15' to 20' spread
• conical shape
• horizontal branches with pendulous branchlets

Summer Foliage

• leaves are evergreen needles, 1" to 1.5" ling
• leaves are spirally-arranged or 2-ranked
• color varies from blue-green to gray-green or shiny, bright green

Autumn Foliage

• no fall color (evergreen)
• some annual drop of old needles occurs
• winter buds are long-pointed and dark brown

Flowers

• no ornamental value
• flowers are monoecious
• male flowers are axillary and pendulous
• female flowers are terminal

Fruit

• tan cones, 3" to 4" long
• conspicuous 3-pointed bract project from between cone scales
• bracts look like a snake's tongue

Bark

• mature trunks have bark with reddish brown ridges and irregular fissures
• bark on young trunks is smooth with resin blisters

Culture

• culture is similar to that needed by spruce
• moist, slightly acid, well drained soil prefered
• full sun is best
• likes environments with lots of atmospheric moisture
• generally dislikes hot, dry sites
• Rocky Mountain seed source are better than coastal seed sources for tolerating dry sites and colder regions

Landscape Uses

• as a large shade or lawn tree
• a Christmas tree
• accent or specimen
• in groups or clustered
• decoration

Liabilities

• injured by high winds
• cottony aphid
• needle casts (rabdicline)
• twig blight
• several insects, none or which are usually severe
• performs poorly in excessively hot and dry situations

ID Features

• snake tongue-shaped bract projecting from cones
• leaf scars more or less semi-circular
• leaf scars mot raised and twig surface is smooth after needle drop
• winter buds are long-pointed, dark brown and nonresinous
• tree shape is conical
• branches horizontal with pendulous branchlets

Propagation

• by seed
• cultivars are grafted
• cuttings can be rooted, but dificult

Cultivars/Varieties

var. glauca - A naturally-occuring form with bluish-green needles, this selection is also more compact with branches that are upright than the species. 'Blue' is a selected form with blue needles that are said to rival the finest Colorado spruce (Picea pungens). This form is hardy to USDA zone 4.

'Fastigiata' - This variety offers branches that are distinctly upright, forming a spire of dense, green-gray needles.

'Fletcheri' - A common dwarf shrub form, this plant grows 3' to 6' tall by 3' wide and displays blue-green needles.

'Graceful Grace' - Originally discovered as a cultivated plant in Pennsylvania, this fine weeping form features longer needles on an upright plant with gracefully-drooping, lax branches.

'Loggerhead' - This mutation has foliage as per the species, but the habit is dense and mounded. It forms a spreading shrub similar to "Bird's Nest Spruce" (Picea abies 'Nidiformis').

'Little Jon' - A novelty plant, this multi-stemmed dwarf form is globular when young, becoming more broad and upright with age. The needles are dark green on this USDA zone 6 hardy cultivar. 'Hillside Pride' is a similar plant with upright branching.

'Pendula' - An unusual form, this tree features a main trunk that twists as it grows upwards. The lateral branches are spreading and droop for a mounded effect. The plant is clothed in deep green needles. It may only be reliably hardy to USDA zone 6. 'Carnefix Weeping' is a more hardy form (to zone 5), with a variable upright habit, pendulous branches and very rich green needles.