Vanderwolf's Blue Pyriamid Spruce

For an outstanding smaller spruce that grows well even in zone 2, you can’t beat Vanderwolf’s Blue Pyramid Spruce. Pete Vanderwolf made a great choice when he chose this seedling from among many at the nursery where he worked. It has a perfect pyramidal form, making a dense pyramid that grows up to 8 inches a year into a small tree 7 feet tall, and ultimately larger, but never growing into a full-sized problem. The foliage is a wonderful gray-blue, and the way the shoots cascade a little gives it a distinctive look, different from selections of Colorado spruce. Grow it as a wonderful specimen among your shrubs, or in an area dedicated to dwarf evergreens – a great, low-maintenance feature in any garden. Ideal for colder parts of the country, with amazing tolerance of the worst winter can bring you, and also great for a planter from zone 4 onwards. Needs no trimming or attention to keep its perfect form.

• Wonderful upright pyramid of dense branches
• Terrific bright, gray-blue needles stay colorful throughout the year
• A dwarf tree, about 7 feet tall within 10 years
• Very cold tolerant, right through zone 2
• Needs no trimming to keep its perfect form

Grow Vanderwolf’s Blue Pyramid Spruce in full sun for dense growth and strong color. Plant it in any well-drained soil that isn’t too dry – this tree enjoys damper soils, and isn’t especially drought tolerant. It’s a selection of a spruce native to Oregon, and enjoys cold to cool conditions, so it isn’t suitable for the southeast. It will grow in both acidic and alkaline soils, and rocky places too. Deer won’t eat it and it normally has no important pest or disease issues to concern you. It needs no trimming and is best left to develop naturally. Watch that it has only once central leading stem – cut back any competitors by two-thirds when you see them. Multi-leader trees lose their neat form and are more prone to snow damage.