Picea pungens Lucky Strike - Blue Spruce

Picea pungens Lucky Strike is a very beautiful variety of Colorado Spruce, whose green foliage is decorative all year round. In spring, the young shoots of tender green animate its more or less pyramidal to conical silhouette. It fruits relatively young, producing elongated cones of a decorative brown-red colour. It is a very good choice for a rockery or when creating a focal point in the garden. It thrives in the sun or partial shade, in well-drained soil, preferably neutral to acidic.

Picea pungens, also known as Colorado blue spruce or blue spruce, is native to the western coast of the United States and the Rocky Mountains of North America, up to Canada. It is a very hardy evergreen conifer belonging to the Pinaceae family, which includes many ornamental genera, such as Pines, Firs, Larches, Cedars, Pseudotsuga, and Tsuga. In its natural environment, the Picea pungens grows slowly, presenting an elegant and regular conical shape with horizontally layered branches. This tree can reach a height of 25 to 40 m (82 to 131ft). The dwarf forms of Colorado spruce tolerate periods of drought once well established.

The 'Lucky Strike' Colorado Spruce, derived from this species, is a Dutch creation from 1983 (Van Vliet Brothers). Not at all blue, its foliage is dark green but covered with a kind of silvery film that gives it an overall medium green colour. It is slow-growing, reaching about 1.20 m (4ft) in height and 1 m (3ft) in width at the age of 10, and can grow up to 2 m (7ft) or slightly more at maturity. Its habit is more or less conical to pyramidal, but often quite irregular, giving it a very natural appearance. It will integrate very well into a rockery or a slightly wild corner of the garden. A fairly dense shrub, its branches bear short needles measuring 2 to 3 cm (1in) in length, with a satin-like appearance. In spring, the young shoots emerge with a beautiful tender green colour, gradually darkening. It fruits quite young, adorning itself with pretty cylindrical and elongated cones measuring 6 to 10 cm (2 to 4in) in length, of beautiful reddish-brown.
This miniature conifer is quite accommodating, adapting to neutral to acidic soils, even slightly chalky, provided they are not too dry. It is very hardy, withstanding temperatures below -20°C. Requiring no maintenance, it is an easy plant to grow and can also be planted in a container to decorate a terrace.

'Lucky Strike' will be well suited in a sunny rockery that is not too dry, alongside shrubs with similar needs. Plant it, for example, alongside the Pinus mugo Ophir, a mountain pine that forms a compact golden yellow ball in winter, turning into a bright light green in season. The compact barberries with coloured foliage will also create superb contrasts by its side, such as the charming Berberis thunbergii Tiny Gold, a dwarf shrub with bright light green foliage, or the delightful Berberis thunbergii Lutin Rouge, a ball of scarlet red turning purple in season. Physocarpus opulifolius Little Joker, a dwarf variety with purple foliage, will brighten up the surroundings of our little Colorado Spruce with its beautiful white-pink flowering in spring. And to cover the ground at its feet, nothing beats the creeping branches of the Juniperus horizontalis Blue Chip!