What is the difference between a blue spruce and a Norway spruce? (2024)

What is the difference between a blue spruce and a Norway spruce?

Norway spruce needles have a spiral form. Blue spruce trees have smooth, silver, blue-green needles surrounding their branches in a spiral formation. The unique bluish color is attributed to the powdery white substance that forms on fresh needles.

What is the best looking spruce tree?

Brewer Spruce (Picea breweriana)

This tree is sometimes called the weeping spruce because of the way the branchlets hang down. It is an excellent choice for a specimen tree in your garden as the weeping form gives it unique appeal.

How can you tell if a spruce is blue?

Colorado blue spruce needles tend to be more sharp and stiff, and grow off their branches closer to a 90 degree angle. Engelmann needles are a little less sharp and grow at more of a 45 degree angle or so. This isn't perfect, but it's a quick and easy way to remember one of their differences!

What are the cons of Norway spruce?

Pests/Problems:

Occasionally, Norway Spruce can develop Cytospora Canker and Rust diseases. It can also be attacked by Spider Mites, Spruce Gall Aphids, and boring insects. These pests and pathogens are typically present when the tree is already stressed.

What is the difference between a weeping Norway spruce and a weeping blue spruce?

'Weeping Blue' differs from weeping Norway spruce by its blue-gray color. The tree has enough vigor to be staked up higher than in this photo, and will offer more drama if so done.

What are the disadvantages of the spruce tree?

Spruce also has some disadvantages. For one, it is not very durable and cannot be used for outdoor applications. It also needs constant care and high maintenance. Spruce is prone to insect attacks and cannot be in contact with the earth, which is why it is not preferred for flooring.

Which spruce trees grow the fastest?

The Norway Spruce is a fast growing (2-3' per year) evergreen that has dark green needles that are 1 inch long, and can grow up to 5 ft a year in a good weather year. It never drops its needles but keeps them on for up to 10 years. Its branches extend to the ground, giving excellent wind protection.

Why are some blue spruce not blue?

For the same reason some humans have blue eyes and others have brown eyes: genetics. A fair amount of research on the blue spruce and its cultivars demonstrate the variations in color as well as size are dependent on the genetics of the trees.

Why isn't my blue spruce blue?

If your blue spruces aren't blue enough, it might be because of a few factors. This includes the way the tree produces wax on its needles (which gives it the blue colour) in the spring and summer, how long the wax lasts, and how weather affects it.

What is the lifespan of a Norway spruce?

Within its native range, Norway spruce remains healthy up to 200 years, and lives up to 300 to 400 years at the northern limits of its range [42]. Senescence occurs at less than 200 years of age in the British Isles and North America [50].

What is special about Norway spruce?

Uses: The Norway spruce's tough and elastic timber, known as 'white deal', is used for internal building work, boxes and paper. Its sound transmitting properties make it ideal for certain parts of violins - its timber is sometimes referred to as 'violin wood'.

What is the most disease resistant spruce tree?

Norway Spruce is the most disease resistant spruce and is affected by few insects, and none serious, such as mites and spruce bud scale. The spread of southern pine beetle locally onto Norway spruce is a concern. Needlecast can cause lower branch dieback.

What is the problem with the weeping Norway spruce?

Weeping Norway spruce trees are susceptible to several fungal diseases, including cytospora canker and rhizosphaera needlecast. Cytospora will cause yellow-orange spots on the trunk, as well as small raised areas on the bark of the tree. Rhizosphaera, meanwhile, may cause the needles to turn brown and fall off.

What is the hardiest spruce tree?

Blue spruce (Picea pungens), also famously called the Colorado spruce, is a highly adaptable plant that can grow just about anywhere and everywhere in plant hardiness zones 3 through 7.

Does Norway spruce smell good?

The Norway Spruce is known for its aroma, infusing every corner of your home with that typical pine scent of a true Christmas tree. The needles are fresh, fragrant, and slightly spikier, they do tend to drop throughout the season.

What is the best spruce for landscape?

Serbian Spruce (Picea omorika)

The Serbian spruce can tolerate some drought and shade, though it prefers medium levels of moisture in the soil, and it's a good choice for urban landscapes because it resists air pollution. 2 This is one of the better spruce species for hot, humid conditions.

What is the lifespan of a spruce tree?

Growth and Yield- Blue spruce is apparently a long-lived tree, surviving up to 600 years or more. Diameter growth is slow; trees 10 to 13 cm (4 to 5 in) in d.b.h. may be 125 to 135 years old; at 46 to 56 cm (18 to 22 in), they may be 275 to 350 years of age (84).

What is the best blue spruce?

'Hoopsii' is a great choice for a very intense blue-silver color and growth habits similar to 'Fat Albert'. 'Hoopsii' (photo to the left) is considered one of the best spruces with the bluest color, according to Michael Dirr in the book "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants".

How tall is a 5 year old Norway spruce?

A: From seed to tree, a 5-year-old Norway spruce should be around 3 feet. Now if you planted a 2-inch Norway spruce seedling, within 5 years it could reach 10 feet under ideal conditions.

How far apart do you plant Norway spruce for privacy?

The Norway Spruce adds great texture and huge heights to the home landscape. This long living tree is perfect for a tall windbreak or privacy screen. Plant 12 to 15 feet apart for a tight screen.

Will Norway spruce needles grow back?

In this case, that is the beautiful spruce in your landscape. Beginning on the lower branches and progressing from the inside out and bottom to top, your tree will slowly begin to shed needles. The lost needles will not grow back. In the case of severe infection, entire branches may die off in one season.

Why is my Norway spruce turning yellow?

The problem may or may not be an actual lack of nutrients in the soil. Many factors might be limiting nutrient movement to these needles. Root rot, root compaction, waterlogged soil, drainage problems, deep planting, girdling roots, transplant shock, or even high soil pH could be involved.

How tall will a Norway spruce grow?

More of the needles are borne on the upper surface of the twigs where they usually point forward. The foliage appears to droop or weep. The cone is 4 to 7 inches long; light brown; hanging down. Norway spruce grow 75 to 100 feet tall.

What is the white stuff on my Norway spruce?

The cankers often will be covered with a white or bluish white resin, a characteristic symptom of Cytospora Canker. The fungus typically will not enter the trunk of the tree and thus, it rarely will kill an entire tree but will leave it thin and unattractive.

What are the cons of blue spruce?

Blue spruce does better in cooler, more northern climates. In USDA hardiness zone 7, blue spruce struggles with high nighttime temperatures. Although tolerant of short-term drought, water stress is one of the primary predisposing factors that facilitates disease development.