FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Colorado Blue Spruce or Picea pungens is one of the most popular evergreens throughout our area. But is its natural habitat in Colorado? Blue Spruce is found in Colorado and in southwest range of southwest Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. It is found at elevations that can range up to 12,000 feet in elevation. In its northern range it is in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana at elevations of 6,000 to 9,000 feet. In Colorado we find many Blue Spruce at 1,800 to 3,400 altitude.
Our beloved Colorado Blue Spruce is a long-lived tree and can reach 600 to 800 years old. It produces seeds readily usually every 2-3 years. Compared to Douglas Fir or Ponderosa Pine, the Blue Spruce has a relatively shallow root system. But it penetrates deeply enough to still withstand some high wind speeds.
Naturally, Colorado Blue Spruce are acclimated to humid and cool weather. They are found close to or alongside streams, gentle upland slopes or sub irrigated slopes. It grows in soils with 6.8 to 7.2 ph. This tree originates at a place in nature where it receives precipitation during the summer months. This is important for the future care of Colorado Blue Spruce during our summer droughts and now our low snow precipitation on the plains.
According to the USDA, though blue spruce prefers moisture, it is resilient to withstanding low temperatures down to minus 40 Fahrenheit. It is more resistant to high insolation and frost damage than other associated species.
Blue Spruce do not grow in their native stands as large stands of trees. They grow in scattered smaller groups of trees. They like the gravelly, rich moist soils. They are not great trees for larger wildlife because they do not provide much cover growing in scattered smaller groups. They do provide cover and seed for squirrels, rodents, and some birds.
These trees are most susceptible to spruce budworm and spruce bark beetle. There is also a western spruce dwarf mistletoe that is parasitic to it, but I have never seen it in my travels in our area. Keeping your tree well-watered through the summer with a deep watering either once a month or once weekly during a drought allows the tree to have a good immunity against these insects. In the winter water every six weeks, if there is no snow cover for that month.
–Linda Langelo, Colorado State University Extension