Blue Spruce

Time for another walk in the backyard and a look at one variety of the evergreen trees. There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs. An evergreen tree is a tree that has leaves (needles)in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous trees, which completely lose their foliage during winter.

Blue spruce trees typically reach a height of 30'-60' and spread out 10'-20'. They are very slow growing but have strong branches making it a good choice for Christmas trees. Their silvery-blue needles are prickly to the touch and aromatic. The blue spruce needles are four sided, curved, almost square, 1/2 to 1 inch long. The needles on a spruce are actually the leaf of the tree.

The pine cone of the spruce is an organ on the tree that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The cones are slender cylindrical, 2 -4 inches long and 1-2 inches broad when closed, opening to 3 inches broad. They have thin, flexible scales 20–24 mm long, with a wavy margin. They are reddish to violet, maturing pale brown 5–7 months after pollination.

Mature Blue Spruce

Blue Spruce Bark

Blue Spruce Open Cone

Blue Spruce Needles