Topic: Blue Spruce

[wahaj]

I bought this stunning tree from B&Q today as my christmas tree. it's about 3.5 feet tall i think. It's in a pot.....but it doesn't look like it was grown in that pot.the soil is very clay-ey and it basically doesn't fit the pot....looks more like it was dumped in it.

Anyway.....i want to know if it's safe to plant it close to the house. if not....how far away should i plant it? because after christmas...it's going in the garden lol.

Or can i keep it in a pot? like put it in a bigger pot. What sort of soil does it like?

And if it starts to get too big....can i trim it? or does it not respond well to that?

and finally....how fast and how tall does it grow?

like the BBC website says it's ultimate height it 10 meters tall and is very slow growing....taking 10 years to grow 75cm. but then i'm sure i've seen them much bigger than that....and wikipedia suggests they can grow to more than 4 times that height.

[Emagggie]

I'd check it's got some roots at all first Wahaj...
Looks nice with the baubles.

[wahaj]

I'd check it's got some roots at all first Wahaj...
Looks nice with the baubles.

oh but it said "living" on it......that's the reason i bought it lol.

I'm terrified of picking it up because it's so sharp. one little touch and it'll cut my arm in half lol.

[muddy boots]

I've bought quite a few small living Christmas trees over the years, including blue spruce.  Although they are very slow growing, if you want to keep it manageable, do put it in a bigger pot.  I mixed mine with good compost and it's original soil and it has flourished this year.  If you don't have a large garden, I certainly wouldn't plant it out.  Also, you can prune it to shape quite easily but remember, as with any tree, when you cut the main shoot, it doesn't grow a great deal higher.  I would just let it grow to about a foot lower than you want it to grow after a few years.

You've got a lovely little tree, just rush it outside on the 6th January and it will keep going!

[wahaj]

I've bought quite a few small living Christmas trees over the years, including blue spruce.  Although they are very slow growing, if you want to keep it manageable, do put it in a bigger pot.  I mixed mine with good compost and it's original soil and it has flourished this year.  If you don't have a large garden, I certainly wouldn't plant it out.  Also, you can prune it to shape quite easily but remember, as with any tree, when you cut the main shoot, it doesn't grow a great deal higher.  I would just let it grow to about a foot lower than you want it to grow after a few years.

You've got a lovely little tree, just rush it outside on the 6th January and it will keep going!

thanks muddy. i read the sign that came with it just now....it says not suitable to replanting outside.....god knows what that mean. But yea i won't even be waiting till 6th jan. as soon boxing day's over...i'll be out there giving it tlc and repotting it into something suitable. It may not live but it's worth it for such a stunning plant. i can just imagine it in full sun in the summer, gleaming on the patio.

[ipt8]

Hi
Grow it in a pot and increase pot size over the years. It is not ideal but is the best thing in a garden.

Usually they have a poor root system because thay are only sold that way to keep the needles after Xmas, but it could grow well.

It wont be happiest like that but if happy in the soil, which should be peaty moist and never dry out, it will grow a minimum of one to two feet a year to eighty to one hundred feet. If you want to see conifers go to Begebury Pinetum, its very good.

Christmas tree growers like to grow them on high ground to keep the growth rate down or they get those large lanky leading shoots and customers complain that they have no where to hang their baubles. I know ive grown  em as part of my job.

I should say the spruce aphid is a huge problem and you often get last years needles brown due to the aphids.

Spruce respond well to pruning I think in early summer. Shears are fine but dont go back into old wood. Spruce will not produce new shoots on old wood like pine will.

Hope thats some help.

[ipt8]

I think if you look in the gallery at Kailzee Gardens Peebles there is a mature spruce in the third or fourth photo from the bottom, so keep it in a pot as I said 8)

[wahaj]

ooh thanks for the advice ipt8!

i'm so glad that it has atleats some chance of surviving after the winter as it's such a pretty plant. It'll look great as a background on the patio.

I'm thinking of actually taking the baubles off and putting it outside and use it as a plant instead.

Do you think it's gonna be ok in low light levels in my room? it does get pretty dry. I mean i do mist all my plants every morning but it's difficult with this one as it's so big and it's covered in things that shouldn't really get wet.