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Picea pungens 'Compacta'

Common Name(s):

Phonetic Spelling
PY-see--uh PUN-jenz com-PAK-tah
Description

Dwarf spruce is a cultivar of the Colorado blue spruce. It is a compact, densely branched, flat-topped evergreen with long blue, sharp-tipped needles.  Over time, its low horizontal branches form a beautiful spreading skirt. It is slow growing reaching only 1-5 feet in 10 years.

This tree needs average well-drained soil in full sun. It does best in cool-weather summers and will grow slower in the hot humid southeast weather. Native trees will be a better choice for NC. It may tolerate the NC mountain area weather.

VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.

More information on Picea pungens.

Profile Video:
See this plant in the following landscape:
Patio Room
Cultivars / Varieties:
Tags:
#evergreen#conifer#cpp#needled evergreen#horizontal#compact habit
 
Cultivars / Varieties:
Tags:
#evergreen#conifer#cpp#needled evergreen#horizontal#compact habit
  • Attributes:
    Genus:
    Picea
    Species:
    pungens
    Family:
    Pinaceae
    Life Cycle:
    Woody
  • Whole Plant Traits:
    Plant Type:
    Shrub
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Needled Evergreen
    Habit/Form:
    Dense
    Horizontal
    Growth Rate:
    Slow
    Maintenance:
    Low
  • Cultural Conditions:
    Light:
    Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
    Soil Drainage:
    Good Drainage
    NC Region:
    Mountains
    USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
    3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
  • Flowers:
    Flower Description:
    No flowers
  • Leaves:
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Needled Evergreen
    Leaf Color:
    Blue
    Leaf Feel:
    Prickly
    Leaf Type:
    Needles
    Leaf Arrangement:
    Whorled
    Leaf Shape:
    Linear
    Leaf Margin:
    Entire
    Hairs Present:
    No
    Leaf Length:
    1-3 inches
    Leaf Width:
    < 1 inch
    Leaf Description:
    Stiff sharp blue-green needles with three or four whitish stomatal lines on each surface are 1-1.5 inches long and spiral along the stem
  • Stem:
    Stem Is Aromatic:
    No
    Stem Description:
    Nearly horizontal stems