{"id":2655,"date":"2019-11-14T00:03:03","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T08:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/pal-question-447\/"},"modified":"2023-08-08T14:31:53","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T21:31:53","slug":"on-growing-colorado-blue-spruce-in-the-pnw","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/on-growing-colorado-blue-spruce-in-the-pnw\/","title":{"rendered":"on growing Colorado blue spruce in the PNW"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am interested in planting a dwarf Colorado blue spruce in my yard (I live in Kirkland), but my landscaper said that blue spruce does not do well here. Is she correct? It is true that there aren’t any on the Great Plant Picks list.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to local gardener and author Arthur Lee Jacobson, Picea pungens
\nf. glauca<\/em> (Colorado blue spruce) is quite common in gardens here, but in
\nhis opinion it does not have many assets beyond its striking color and
\nhardiness (North American Landscape Trees, Ten Speed Press, 1996). I
\nwonder if your landscaper has observed that it is susceptible to spruce
\nspider mites, aphids, and other pests and diseases. I see that it is
\nsusceptible to Phytophthora, which is often a problem in our area. The
\nbook Trees & Shrubs for Pacific Northwest Gardens<\/em> by John and Carol
\nGrant (Timber Press, 1990) concurs that Colorado spruce is not the best
\nchoice for our region because of pests and diseases. Newly planted trees
\nwill also need regular watering for their first year, and if they do not
\nreceive it, they are likely to suffer dieback or death. Here are links to
\nadditional information from the Washington State University<\/a> and the Urban Forests Ecosystems Institute SelecTree site.<\/a><\/p>\n

Excerpt:
\n
\nPest & Disease: Susceptible to Aphids, Scales and Spider Mites, Oak Root
\nRot, Phytophthora, Root Rot, Rust and Sooty Mold.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you love the look of this tree, you could try growing it despite the
\ndrawbacks, or you could look for other blue foliage conifers which may be
\neasier to grow here. Great Plant Picks<\/a> mentions Abies pinsapo ‘Glauca,’
\nthough this is not a dwarf tree.<\/p>\n

You might want to search the Oregon State University Landscape Plants<\/a> web
\npages for additional information on any other trees you are considering
\nfor your garden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am interested in planting a dwarf Colorado blue spruce in my yard (I live in Kirkland), but my landscaper said that blue spruce does not do well here. Is she correct? It is true that there aren’t any on the Great Plant Picks list.   According to local gardener and author Arthur Lee Jacobson, Picea pungens f. glauca (Colorado blue spruce) is quite common in gardens here, but in his opinion it does not have many assets beyond its…<\/p>\n

Continue reading on growing Colorado blue spruce in the PNW<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[207],"class_list":["post-2655","pal","type-pal","status-publish","hentry","keyword-picea"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal\/2655"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=2655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}