The Blues Weeping Colorado Spruce

Weeping trees have a magical quality, as their cascading branches flow against the upwards direction of most plants. They make effective and dramatic accents in any space, and if they are also brilliantly colored, and easy to grow, then their value to us increases exponentially. Some can be almost formal, while others have unique personalities, each one a distinctive individual, bringing an informal, perhaps even oriental feel to our garden spaces, big or small.

Such a tree is The Blues Weeping Colorado Spruce, perhaps the best of all the weeping spruce trees, and certainly the most colorful, with its crisp needles in a vibrant shade of silver-blue. This is also a fast-growing tree, adding 12 inches each year under favorable conditions, and so the stems are long, adding to the cascading effect, and emphasizing the brilliant coloring.

This special tree is also unique because no two trees are identical. A combination of growing conditions, light levels and light direction, the presence of other trees, plus the skill and intention of the gardener, all come together to make every tree different. As well, this tree evolves through its life – it doesn’t just become larger, but expands and develops, reaching a unique mature form that no one else will have – your tree is yours alone. Even two trees in the same garden can be very different, expressing in its weeping contours and vibrant color exactly the combination of melancholy and spirit that animates the music it is named after.

Growing Blues Weeping Colorado Spruce Trees

The Blues Weeping Colorado Spruce grows about 12 inches a year, and in ten years it will be ten feet tall, or ten feet across, depending on how it has grown and how it has been trained. This evergreen conifer has long, stiff needles all around the stems, in a powerful shade of silver-blue. Both the main stem and the side-branches are weeping, so the main stem should be staked while young, to lead it upwards to any height you wish. The side branches are usually left un-staked, and grow out more or less horizontally, with the smaller stems hanging downwards. This plant rarely produced cones. It is as colorful in winter as it is in summer.

Planting Location and uses

What is the best way to use such an exciting specimen in your garden? Planting it as a specimen in a lawn in one effective way, and there will be plenty of room for it to spread out. A pair planted at the beginning of a path or driveway creates an elegant but informal entrance, and with training you can grow them spreading or more upright and weeping. Planted among other dwarf evergreens, this tree will really stand out as a center piece. It can even be grown in a large container, and it would be stunning in an Asian-themed garden too, among Japanese maples, pines and bamboos.

Sun Exposure and Soil conditions

Plant this beautiful tree in a sunny or very lightly-shaded location and be sure to allow plenty of room to show off its development. Although it can spread outwards among other, more upright plants, walls and fences are an obstruction, so plant well away from them. It grows happily in any kind of well-drained soil, both sandy and clay soils, as well as acidic or alkaline ones. So that it can grow at its maximum pace, enrich the soil with organic material, to retain moisture in dry soil, improve drainage in clay soil, and provide essential nutrients for your tree as well.

History and Origins of The Blues Weeping Colorado Spruce

The Blues Weeping Colorado Spruce is a special selection of Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens), a tree that grows at high altitudes all along the mountains of the West, from Montana to Arizona. Its mountain life has made this a tough tree, able to withstand temperatures to minus 50 degrees, so it is an ideal choice for colder parts of the country, where it will thrive.

There are numerous special forms of this tree, from dwarf mounds to forest giants, as well as several weeping forms. with drooping branches and branchlets. ‘The Blues’ was found as a unique branch, growing on an older weeping form, called ‘Glauca Pendula’. This branch was a more intense color, with the smaller branches hanging more. It is much more attractive, especially when young, than the older form. It was found by Larry Stanley in 1982, growing at his nursery, Stanley & Sons Nursery, in Boring Oregon. It became a favorite of many specialist conifer collectors, and in 2008 it was declared ‘Collectors Conifer of the Year’ by the American Conifer Society.

Buying Blues Weeping Colorado Spruces at The Tree Center

Our trees are produced from descendants of that original branch, which is carefully reproduced every time by grafting selected stem pieces onto the roots of seedling trees. There may be cheaper weeping blue spruce available, but the top gardeners agree this is the best, so why grow anything else? We have a limited stock of this remarkable tree, so order now, while we are still able to fulfill your order. Trees like this are never regularly available, and they will soon be gone.