Popular for its symmetrical shape and beautiful blue needles, the Colorado Blue Spruce lives up to its name as it displays a vibrant blue hue among the forests of their native region in the Rocky Mountains. For decades, lovers of this spruce have searched for ways to speed up the growth to harness this same beauty to display in their own yards.
Tending to the basic everyday needs of your blue spruce is the best way to encourage faster growth. At least one inch of water per week, six hours of full sunlight per day, and shallow soil acidic in nature are the simplest ways to send your blue spruce towering towards the sky.
Simply said, there is no secret serum to make your blue spruce grow faster. There are, however, simple tips and tricks to ensure that your blue spruce is reaching its fullest potential!
How Long Does It Actually Take For A Blue Spruce To Grow?
From seed to sapling, the growth of the blue spruce is slow. It’s actually one of the slowest starting conifers in the ground, but not the slowest growing. As the blue spruce starts to mature, the growth starts to accelerate.
On average, a blue spruce grows at a slow to medium rate inching upwards at 12 to 24 inches per year.
At this rate, the blue spruce requires 5 to 10 years to reach just 10 feet, usually maxing out around 60 feet in just 30 to 60 years.
In the forest, the blue spruce can grow as tall as 75 to 100 feet thriving in the rocky, mountainous terrain. Old-growth spruce forests are home to spruce trees ranging from 200-600 years old.
It is important to note that there are a few different varieties of the blue spruce, and some are genetically grown to max out at smaller heights. If your blue spruce seems to have maxed out on height, it is possible that you have one of the other types of blue spruce trees growing in your yard, such as the Fat Albert Spruce!
For the spruce in your yard, the growth and age also tend to be slower and younger because of the environment around it. It’s no secret that the Colorado Blue Spruce grows best in the mountains of Colorado!
It may even take close to 20 years for the spruce tree in your yard to start bearing cones.
So, how exactly can you make your blue spruce grow faster?
Growth Requirements and Growth Rates For Blue Spruce
| Types of Blue Spruces | Water Requirement | Light Requirement | Soil Preference | Growth Rate | Average Annual Growth | Mature Height in Landscape |
| Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) | Moist, drained | Full Sun | 6.8-7.2 | Medium | 12 to 24 inches | 30 to 60 feet |
| Lucretia Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens ‘Lucretia’) | Moist, drained | Full Sun | 5.5-7.1 | Slow | 2 to 3 inches | 2 to 6 feet |
| Weeping Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens ‘Pendula’) | Moist, drained | Full sun | 5.1-7.3 | Medium | 12 or more inches | 30 to 60 feet |
| Fat Albert Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens ‘Fat Albert’) | Moist, drained | Full sun | 5.5-7.1 | Medium | 12 or more inches | 10 to 15 feet |
If the blue spruce in your yard has been growing for decades and still hasn’t reached its mature height, follow this chart and post religiously to ensure your blue spruce is properly taken care of.
This chart will help your blue spruce grow beyond its years when followed from seed to sapling and from sapling to tree!
Ways To Make Your Blue Spruce Grow Faster
To make your blue spruce grow faster, it is important to plant your spruce in the proper place – an open area at least 20 feet from any structure with full sun exposure and in well-drained acidic soil, preferably in a place with regular rainfall.
If your spruce is properly planted, receiving enough sunlight and water, and still needs a little boost, fertilizing, mulching, and pruning are a few other ways to accelerate the growth of your blue spruce.
It is also important to note that sudden temperature changes can stunt the growth of your blue spruce, so depending on the area you live in, greatly depends on the speed your blue spruce grows. Mulching can help eliminate this problem!
If you think that the climate you live in is not optimal for blue spruce, don’t be discouraged. There are still ways to grow this little piece of the mountains around your home.
Studies have shown that starting your blue spruce in a container and exceeding their daily needs while they’re young can greatly influence their rate of growth and health once you plant them in the ground. The nursery you pick your blue spruce from is important!
OR you can continue to container-grow your blue spruce and make it your next Christmas tree!
But even if your blue spruce is already growing in your yard, you’ll still find all of the simple tips you need to speed up the growth of your blue spruce below!
1. Lots of Sunlight Will Help Your Blue Spruce Grow Faster
Spruce trees love sunlight. If there’s only one simple tip to take away from this entire post, it would be this one right here. Well, I mean, the rest of them are important too.
Blue spruce trees require at least six hours of sunlight per day. They’d be happy if they had sunlight all day long, and they would even grow faster.
Like most plants green and growing, the blue spruce uses the energy from the sun as its own external energy source. Without enough energy, your spruce will simply grow slower. But that’s obvious, right? Proper energy and nutrition are necessary to keep your body and your blue spruce growing.
Although they can tolerate some shade, the blue spruce needs full sun to reach its top growth potential.
Bright sunlight even allows the colors of your blue spruce to develop more vibrantly.
If the canopy of other trees around your home is not allowing your blue spruce to receive full sun for at least half the day, it is time to consider thinning the trees around your spruce.
2. Water Your Blue Spruce Often To Speed Up Growth
Watering your blue spruce regularly is also an important factor in speeding up the growth of your tree. A typical blue spruce requires at least one inch of water per week but thrives with moist soil that penetrates and remains moist at least two inches down.
The soil beneath your blue spruce should be well-drained and allow even moisture throughout.
Blue spruce will not do well in standing water, so be sure to plant your blue spruce in an area that is not prone to flooding.
A climate with an average annual rainfall of 18 to 24 inches per year is adequate for fast-growing spruce. Blue spruce trees are more drought tolerant than any other spruce, but still prefer their fair share of water to grow at their best.
Promote the growth of your blue spruce by watering it in times of drought… even if it does have some drought resistance.
In their natural habitat, you’ll find that blue spruce trees grow along streams and river banks near the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. This is because the blue spruce requires constant water to tower upwards at faster rates.
3. Mulch Around Your Blue Spruce To Promote Faster Growth
In areas common to drought, or even as an extra safety net to promote faster growth, consider mulching around the base of your blue spruce.
It is recommended that you mulch your blue spruce directly after planting to help your tree become established and further its growth later on.
By applying two to four inches of mulch around your blue spruce, you allow the moisture to retain and reach the root of your tree. Mulching around your spruce tree will also promote overall soil health and nutrition.
Mulch also reduces the growth of weeds around your spruce tree which will absorb nutrients and water from your blue spruce, slowing its growth.
Simply said, applying mulch at the base of your blue spruce will help it grow faster.
4. Test Your Soil To Ensure Your Blue Spruce Can Properly Grow
Also found in the Rocky Mountain terrain, home to the Colorado Blue Spruce, is rocky, acidic soil. To help your blue spruce grow properly, and faster, it is important that the soil beneath your tree is acidic.
For any blue spruce, the soil pH should range anywhere from 5.1-7.8 sliding between acidic and neutral. Find a happy medium between those numbers to speed up the growth of your blue spruce.
A happy tree is a fast-growing tree!
If you’re unsure what the soil is like beneath your spruce tree, you can easily test your own at home! This Digital Soil pH Meter by BioLogic makes testing your soil at home quick and simple!
Simply place the meter in the soil near your spruce tree and wait for the numbers to appear. If they fall between 5.1 and 7.8, the soil for your blue spruce is perfect.
However, if the numbers do not fall between them, it is time to amend the soil around your blue spruce. You can add compost, coffee grounds, or fertilizer to your soil to increase its acidity. After fixing the soil, you’ll watch your blue spruce grow faster!
If you already know that your soil is acidic and your blue spruce still isn’t growing to its fullest potential, it is possible that your blue spruce is planted too deep in the soil.
The Utah State University Cooperative Extension found that 80% of struggling spruce trees submitted were diagnosed with environmental stress due to deep planting or drought stress.
A spruce tree develops well when planted shallowly, allowing the roots to travel easily through rocky terrains. Even when planted in your yard, it is important to not plant them deeply in the soil to allow them to mimic their natural habitat.
The best way to produce any healthy houseplant, tree, or shrub, is to mimic nature to the best of your ability.
Your blue spruce tree will grow faster if you cater to its simplest needs and resemble its rocky nature whenever possible.
5. Fertilizing Your Blue Spruce Will Help It Grow Faster
If your green thumb is the most vibrant it can be, and you’re still looking to help your blue spruce grow faster, perhaps it’s time to spread some fertilizer around your spruce tree.
Fertilizing your blue spruce can be simple! Simply add compost beneath your blue spruce and as it gradually amends the soil, your blue spruce will gradually adapt to a faster growth rate.
I have found that the best fertilizer outside of compost is Espoma Organic Evergreen-Tone which is an all-natural fertilizer that supports acidity and promotes overall growth. This fertilizer contains the minerals and bacteria necessary to keep your spruce thriving!
This fertilizer is easy and ready to use! It is recommended that you feed twice a year in the early spring and late fall.
It is important to note that your blue spruce must already be established (beyond its sapling years) to produce the best results.
6. Prune Lightly To Encourage Blue Spruce Growth
Often overlooked, pruning is essential to promote proper growth.
The blue spruce is naturally symmetric, which is often what its beauty is known for, but it still requires some light pruning to create beautiful, dense foliage.
If your blue spruce was properly planted – at least 20 feet from structures, far from other trees, and placed for full sunlight, then it requires very little pruning.
Your blue spruce, however, will respond well to light pruning allowing the foliage to become denser. Pruning the tips of older trees (not young ones!) will inspire growth from lateral branches.
Pruning young trees can stunt the overall growth, so let your sapling be!
It is possible that the most pruning your blue spruce will ever need is simply removing the broken or dead branches. This is actually super important.
By removing dead or broken branches, your blue spruce is able to place its energy elsewhere, such as in its growth instead of expelling energy on useless branches.
Not only will the aesthetic and airflow of your blue spruce improve, but so will its growth.
There are many small things that your blue spruce can be placing its energy into that is unnecessary and stopping your tree from growing faster.
Technically, you can follow 6 simple steps to keep your blue spruce small, if you prefer it that way.
7. Check Your Blue Spruce Often To Remove Pests
More often than not, if your blue spruce is not looking its usual blue color or growing as fast as you’d like, it is possible that your blue spruce is being invaded. Bagworms and spider mites are common pests that slow the growth of your tree.
If you find any bagworms (brown cocoon-like bags hanging off the branches), remove them by hand immediately. Once they hatch in June, it’s game over if there are too many of them.
Usually, signs of pests are signs of environmental stress. Underwatering, soil compaction, competition, root damage, and other outside factors can be the underlying factor of these new invaders.
It is important that you check your blue spruce often for any signs of pests, stress, and damage to ensure proper growth. Catching and solving the problem at the root will prove to be more effective over time.
Freeing your blue spruce from these annoyances is just another simple trick to speeding up the growth of your spruce tree.
8. Avoid Transplanting Your Blue Spruce To Speed Up Growth
When planting your blue spruce, it is important that you choose an adequate spot from the start. Plan and prepare, weighing out your options and locations before ever planting your tree.
Although blue spruce trees are relatively easy to transplant because of their shallow roots, they do not respond well to transplanting sometimes even years after.
It is highly recommended that you amend the soil and environment around your blue spruce before weighing the option to transplant it.
However, if you absolutely must transplant your blue spruce to kickstart its growth journey, it is best to transplant it in late winter or early spring. If you transplant your blue spruce in the summer, the needles will turn brown, and the tree will not survive.
Also, transplanting your blue spruce while the young shoots are showing signs of growth will damage the development of your blue spruce overall.
Honestly, there are more cons than pros when deciding whether or not you should transplant your blue spruce. If you’re looking for it to grow faster, transplanting is not the answer.
Wrapping Up!
Remember, a happy tree is a fast-growing tree! If you’re looking to send your blue spruce soaring, be sure to cover their basic needs and then some.
One of the benefits of blue spruces is that they are incredibly good at telling you when they are happy or not. For instance, if your spruce is turning red, or is starting to have droopy needles, you know it is time to help it out!
The time you put into caring for your blue spruce will be in direct proportion to its growth journey. Grandma was right when she said talking to the plants helps them grow faster – a little extra love and care go a long way!
These are the most simple tips to make your blue spruce grow faster:
- Your blue spruce needs 6 hours of sunlight per day, allowing them to grow in full sunlight will make them grow faster.
- Provide at least one inch of water per week, two is best!
- Apply two to four inches of mulch around your blue spruce.
- Test your soil and be sure it falls between 5.1-7.8 pH.
- Fertilize your blue spruce twice a year!
- Lightly prune your blue spruce, ensuring there are no broken branches in sight.
- Check your blue spruce often for pests and signs of stress.
- Avoid transplanting your blue spruce; amend the soil instead!
And just remember that growth takes time!
References
Bongarten, B. C., & Hanover, J. W. (1985). Accelerating seedling growth through photoperiod extension for genetic testing: a case study with blue spruce (Picea pungens). Forest science, 31(3), 631-643.
Erhart, E., & Hartl, W. (2003). Mulching with compost improves growth of blue spruce in Christmas tree plantations. European Journal of Soil Biology, 39(3), 149-156.
Hanover, J. W. (1975). Genetics of blue spruce (Vol. 28). Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture.
Tinus, R. W. (1974, August). Characteristics of seedlings with high survival potential. In Proc, North American Containerized Forest Tree Seedling Symposium. Publ (Vol. 68, p. 276â).
Wenny, D. L. (1990). Spruce Seedlings.
Young, E., & Hanover, J. W. (1978). Effects of temperature, nutrient, and moisture stresses on dormancy of blue spruce seedlings under continuous light. Forest Science, 24(4), 458-467.
