Picea pungens ‘Fat Albert’
Description
Create a stunning backdrop with the Fat Albert Colorado Blue Spruce. This evergreen conifer features rich blue needles and a naturally pyramidal form, making it a perfect pick for a living Christmas tree. In garden beds and landscapes, its bold blue color provides an excellent contrast for trees and bushes with greener foliage.
A variety of Colorado Blue Spruce, Fat Albert is a popular tree for colder regions, thriving in zones 2-8. It grows upright, with full branches radiating horizontally from the ground for a striking shape. Its branches feature dense needles in a rich silver-blue, making the tree stand out in your lawn or garden.
This Spruce is a slow grower, so you’ll get bold landscape statement without an overwhelming size. The Fat Albert Colorado Spruce reaches 10-15 feet tall and wide within 10 years, and will eventually grow 40 feet tall and 20 feet wide. It’s a great option for filling bare corners or adding height in a garden of low-growing plants or dwarf conifers. The best part? This easy-growing Spruce couldn’t be less work. It’s extremely cold-hardy and tolerant of many soil conditions, as well as road salt and urban pollution.
Planting
First, select an area with full to partial sunlight and well-drained soil. When planting, dig a hole for each tree that is three times as wide as the root ball but just as deep. You don’t need to add anything to the planting hole. Place the tree, fill in around the tree with the same soil you took out when initially digging the hole. Finally, tamp down as you fill to cut back on any air pockets from forming, water the tree, then mulch to conserve moisture.
Watering
Spruce trees prefer evenly moist, well-draining soil, but can tolerate some drought once established. Water your Colorado Spruce Tree deeply and regularly each week, more often in hot or dry climates. Not sure when to water? Check the soil 2 inches down and water when dry to the touch.
Fertilizing
Your Colorado Blue Spruce should not need any extra fertilizer, but you can feed with a general-purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring.
Pruning
Pruning isn’t necessary for this naturally graceful grower, although you can prune to remove dead or damaged branches and shape as needed.
| Growing Information | |
| Mature Height: | 40 ft |
| Mature Width: | 10-20 ft |
| Sunlight: | Full to Partial Sun |
| Bloom Time: | |
| Growth Rate: | Slow |
| Grows Well in Zones: | 2-8 |
| Your Growing Zone: | 6 |
