Globe Blue Spruce
Picea pungens 'Glauca Globosa'
- Evergreen
- Cold hardy
- Drought tolerant
- Dwarf conifer
- Low maintenance
A slow-growing dwarf conifer that forms a tidy mound of intensely silvery-blue needles, bringing year-round color and structure to small gardens and rockeries.
Keep reading Show less
Picea pungens ‘Glauca Globosa’ — the globe blue spruce — is a dwarf, slow-growing cultivar of the Colorado blue spruce, selected for its compact, rounded form and exceptionally silvery-blue needles. It packs all the icy color of a full-size blue spruce into a tidy mound that suits small gardens, foundations, and rock gardens.
Year-round silvery-blue color
The stiff, sharp needles are coated in a waxy bloom that gives them a striking powder-blue to silver cast, holding their color through every season. Growing just a few inches a year, the plant slowly builds into a dense, flattened globe and rarely needs much room. With age the top can grow somewhat irregular, which many gardeners value for its character.
Care tips
Give it full sun for the brightest blue and a spot with good air circulation and well-drained soil. It is extremely cold-hardy and, once established, tolerant of drought, but it will not abide soggy roots. It needs little to no pruning — simply remove any damaged branches and enjoy its slow, sculptural growth.
Fun Fact
The silvery-blue color of blue spruce needles comes from a natural waxy coating the tree produces as UV protection. More sunlight means more wax, which means more intense blue. Move a blue spruce to deep shade and it will gradually lose its blue tones.
Habitat & form
Where it's from and what to expect.
- Native range
- Garden cultivar of the species native to the Rocky Mountains, western North America
- Plant type
- Conifer
- Mature size
- Slowly reaches about 3–5 ft tall and wide over many years, forming a flattened globe.
- Bloom
- None — grown for its evergreen silvery-blue needles rather than flowers.
- Hardiness
- Very cold-hardy — USDA zones 2–8.
Care
How to keep it happy.
- Sunlight
- Full sun for the strongest blue color and densest growth.
- Water
- Water regularly while establishing; mature plants are quite drought-tolerant and dislike wet soil.
- Soil
- Well-drained soil of almost any type; tolerates a range of pH but resents soggy ground.
- Pruning
- Maintenance: very low. Little or no pruning needed; trim only to remove damaged growth or refine the shape in spring.