Picea pungens Jeddeloh - Blue Spruce

Still rare in cultivation, Picea pungens 'Jeddeloh' is a dwarf form of the Colorado blue spruce. It has a globose habit in its young age, then develops into a small, compact, wide and conical tree, dressed in dense foliage of beautiful silver-blue-green, paler on the young spring shoots. Its branches are covered with small needles densely arranged around its short and rigid branches. Its growth, initially quite fast, slows down over the years. It is a good choice for a large rock garden, a bed, or when you want to create a focal point in the garden. It thrives in full sun or partial shade, in well-drained, rather moist, neutral to acidic soil.

Native to the west coast of the United States and the Rocky Mountains of North America, up to Canada, Picea pungens, also known as the Colorado blue spruce or blue spruce, is a very hardy evergreen conifer belonging to the Pinaceae family. In its natural environment, it grows slowly, has an elegant and regular conical habit, with horizontally layered branches. This tree can reach a height of 25 to 40m (82 to 131ft), tolerates limestone soils and some drought.

The 'Jeddeloh' variety, derived from this species, is a creation, still not widely distributed here, often sold grafted. It is an original small conifer, with a wide, somewhat loose, irregular and globose habit at first, rounded and more compact conical shape later on. As long as it has not reached a height of 2.5m (8ft), its growth is quite fast, around 10 to 20cm each year. Beyond this limit, its growth slows down, so that after 15 to 20 years, it will reach about 4m (13ft) in height and 2.5m (8ft) in width, sometimes a bit more depending on the growing conditions. It produces short and thick branches, very densely covered with short and sharp needles, arranged in dense and radially oriented brushes around the branches. Its spring buds, very pale, release dense young shoots of a very bright silver-green, then the foliage takes on a more bluish hue.

The 'Jeddeloh' blue spruce, with its original habit, very compact growth, low maintenance, and easy cultivation, is a perfect plant for large rock gardens, beds, or for solitary planting, even in small gardens. This plant goes well with large stones, geometric lines, and masonry works. It can be associated with spring or summer annuals, which will enhance its foliage. The true graphic qualities of conifers naturally impose themselves in the design of a contemporary garden, which prefers the aesthetics of shapes, silhouettes, and textures to the dance of blooms. These plants, with their reassuring permanence, provide lasting structure to a bed, mark pathways, border terraces, easily replacing the strong presence of trimmed boxwood or holly. They go well with heathers or shrubby sages, as well as with ground cover plants such as aubrietas and Cerastes, as well as flowering shrubs like Gauras. The key is to play with volumes and colours.