Picea pungens Glauca Pendula - Blue spruce

Picea pungens 'Glauca Pendula' is a dwarf and weeping form of the blue spruce. It develops a twisted habit with trailing branches along the trunk, eventually forming a narrow and columnar silhouette. Of moderate growth, it produces blue-grey needles densely arranged around its branches. Its compact and narrow size and low maintenance, make it suitable for planting in rockeries or flower beds, or even in pots on the terrace or in front of the house. It thrives everywhere, as long as it is in the sun, in well-drained soil, even occasionally dry and slightly chalky. 

Native to the west coast of the United States, and the Rocky Mountains of North America, up to Canada, Picea pungens, also known as Colorado Blue Spruce or Blue Spruce, is a very hardy evergreen conifer belonging to the pinaceae family. In its natural environment, it grows slowly, with an elegant and very regular conical habit, with very tiered horizontal branches. This tree can reach a height of 25 to 40 m tolerating limestone soils and some drought. 
The 'Glauca Pendula' variety, derived from this species, is a selection from seedlings by the Koster & Co. nursery in Boskoop, the Netherlands. It is a charming small conifer, with a pendulous and narrow habit. It reaches 3 to 5 m in height at maturity, but its growth is slow. It produces trailing branches along the trunk, covered with very short and sharp needles, arranged in dense brushes around the branches. Its foliage is a fairly light blue-grey. Its scaly, grey-purple bark is quite decorative.

The 'Glauca Pendula' Blue Spruce stands out for its original silhouette and compact growth that requires no maintenance, making it a perfect choice for rockeries or small flower beds, or even as a standalone specimen to highlight its twisted habit. Its ability to thrive in a pot also allows it to decorate a terrace. This spruce blends perfectly with rocks in the garden. It can be accompanied by dwarf conifers with columnar or rounded habits to enhance the visual impact through contrast. Essential in the creation of contemporary gardens that enhance the aesthetics of shapes, silhouettes, and textures rather than blooms. Conifers, with their constancy, can structure a space in a lasting way, delineate paths, border terraces and advantageously replace trimmed boxwoods or hollies. They pair well with ground cover plants such as aubrietas, ceraistes, bushy salvias, and flowering shrubs, allowing for a subtle play on volumes and colours.