How to Grow a Colorado Blue Spruce (Fat Albert) in the South

[@kels3972]

WOW!! I am so glad I saw this video! I live in Southern Ohio & I planted Blue Spruces all around my property. They grew, was doing awesome & about two years ago we had some type of blight that damaged them in this area. It's sad to see those beautiful trees die off!!

[@myraprott8878]

I bought six blue spruce at lowes after Xmas four years ago, they are in 5 gallon pots that they came in , Al I have done is watering them, bought for 5 bucks each. Thanks for al info I’m in hot and dry- zone 8

[@HollisKevin]

Hi My name is Kevin Hollis and I live in Columbus, Georgia out in Midland and I have two Colorado Blue Spruce trees I bought from Lowes about three or four years ago and the are doing beautifully. The first 2 years you have to water them. I paid about 200.00 each for them. I love them. They put out new growth each spring. This year was the first year trimmed them. I also fertilize them with 3 to 4 tree spikes for conifers and they are doing awesome. I planted about 10 small ones and only three of them made I bought a Lowes in Jefferson City, Missouri. This year I bought two Vanderwolf Pines. Absolutely gorgeous trees from their varigated needles, pine bark and cones.

[@johnhanson3693]

I always loved blue spruces but never thought i could plant & enjoy one here in the south carolina but this gives me hope. Great information & instructional video thanks for sharing.

[@kurtschmidt5005]

Did you ever plant one in South Carolina? Did it survive so far? I live in the Charlotte area and I have one that is around 12 years old and still going strong!

[@johnhanson3693]

@@kurtschmidt5005 thats great! No i never tried planting one here in lexington, south carolina it gets so hot for so long during the summer. But i have managed to plant and grow some alberta spruces, black dragon crytomeria, and a chief joseph pine going on 4 years now. I do have to baby them during the summer and keep them well watered. I lost two of them last summer because i didnt. I guess the main reason i havent tried planting a blue spuce is because i dont have a large enough property to support such a tree. I live in a small lot in a residential neighborhood. Perhaps one day when i get a larger property Lord willing.

[@kurtschmidt5005]

@@johnhanson3693 my sister in law lives in the Lexington area and it is hotter than Charlotte!!!

[@BiggCope]

I’m in Columbia SC. Do you have any photos or videos online anywhere? I’ve been growing a lot of evergreens in my yard.

[@johnhanson3693]

@@BiggCope no but i saw your emerald green arborvitae's on your channel they look great!

[@HollisKevin]

I have one in part shade and the other full sun. They both get 8 hours of sun. They both are doing great. no issues. I do water them during june, july and august one a week. 2 five gallon buckets of water.

[@heathersgardenpeace]

Thank you for this! I'm in zone 6b Kentucky so warm, humid, and clay soil. It was good to see good info.

[@261COLLINS]

Love your videos! Your “Fat Albert” is absolutely beautiful!!

[@chris222233]

Very knowledgeable video!! Heck yes!! Keep that up!!

[@DCC-dm8pg]

Thank you this video. I’m in zone 8b. I have a baby size 2 1/2 feet tall😀 planted. Hopefully, following your advice will help us keep it growing beautifully.

[@thirdtothesixthcollectible9582]

Is it still alive?

[@BarnQuiltsbyMountainVisions]

Love this info. Thanks

[@southplainssnowmaking9268]

How often do you add soil conditioner? Is there anything else you do besides that like using miracid?

[@denisev.1217]

Thank you! I miss the blue spruce I grew up with in Pa. We’re in zone 8 now… near Columbus, Ga. wonder if Fat Albert would work?!

[@williamcody9063]

Hello there! I want to be the first to tell you, you in fact can grow not only Blue Spruce but Norway as well! I live in northwest Alabama, 7B and have had a regular variety blue spruce for 10 years! It was a foot or 2 when planted and now approaching 8 feet tall! It almost died the following years after planted but thank the Lord I gave it a chance! It repaired itself and looks like a spruce tree you’d see in the North!

[@franklevantini3239]

I had them when i lived in new york. Now live in puetro rico. Lowest temperatures was 65. But me hates cold.

[@bettyboop1524]

I've had a blue spruce growing in a container for about 6 years. It was beautiful until a deer found it an decided to rub against it breaking branches and making it look like a sale plant. I've taken it out of the container which was one heck of a job and now I'm wondering if I put it in the ground will it live. Zone 6 Kentucky. Thanks

[@MrEunderwood]

Could you list everything you have planted up by your sign? Whatever conifer that is on the right looks pretty good too.

[@modernwize]

I planted 2 Fat Albert Blue Spruce in Charlotte, NC. Both died in the first season.

[@rickjans664]

Just had a root balled 8' Colorado Spruce put in hole dry in place of our 40' Blue Spruce they cut down for a water main , how often should the tree be watered ? time wise and how many days -

[@FrostyTheSnowman12321]

10-15 minutes, no more than once per week!

[@rickjans664]

@@FrostyTheSnowman12321 Thanks for the information

[@FrostyTheSnowman12321]

@@rickjans664 in Cooler Weather {this time of year especially} I’d go 15 minutes once every 2-3 weeks. Peoples biggest problems is OVERWATERING!! Once a Week during Summer / Very Dry Months!

[@mccommas2]

I hope you don't have to chop it down when it getrs taller. You planted it right next to a telephone pole. I got a "baby spruce" and is it about the same as a fat albert? I got lots of space where I plan to put it. No telephone poles in sight. I am also in Connecticut where we don't have clay. I have heard of people planting these Christmas Trees in the South but they recogmend doing so in part shade or maybe in all shade. You didn't mention that.

[@whatsthis2013]

I found a colorado blue spruce xmas tree that was thrown away in January 2024. It was so beautiful I could watch it being thrown away so i brought it back home and put it in a bucket of water. It’s July now and the tree isn’t dead. 😁. In fact there are baby pine cones growing on the branches. Has anyone seen this or heard of this? There’s no roots forming but the tree isn’t dead and baby pine cones are forming and growing. Can this tree be hydroponically grown in this water bucket?

[@carolinab9451]

I am in zone 6A, can you tell me how big you would suspect it would grow? Also, can you trim them to keep them small?

[@bobingalls4643]

Colorado Blue Spruce trees rule!

[@AntorchaToxica2789]

I really liked this plant, I think it is one of the most beautiful. however I get a little frustrated because where I live winter temperatures average 53.6 degrees. but even in summer, maximum temperatures rarely exceed 86 degrees. can anyone tell me if I could grow this plant here in my area for at least a few years?

[@edwardshell1289]

I live in Colorado Springs and our Fat Albert looked like it was frost bitten on the top. Branches turned brown. I don’t find bugs on it. Any idea on how to heal it?

[@sarac.5750]

Hi, i live in italy, it's like zone 8b, do you think that could grow this colorado blue spruce? there is no humidity in the summer here.thx

[@Shelikestocookandgarden]

How far should I plant this away from property line? I’m in GA and I bought one in 10 Gallon pot. Thank you very much. Vicky

[@skgreenhouse]

I'd say atleast 8 ft. :)

[@Shelikestocookandgarden]

Thank you!

[@Shelikestocookandgarden]

@@skgreenhouse I end up return mine 10 gallon size fat Albert today, I realized I just don’t have enough open space for this fat spruce. Love this tree!

[@dillonqaphsiel7977]

I just got one 😊

[@ritakaye]

What is the evergreen on the other side of your sign! ❓❓Thanks for this video! Wish it would grow in pure zone 9!

[@SouloOnTheBeat]

Snow Sprite

[@asefuawa]

How to grow colorado blue spruce from seed? For tropical countries like Indonesia 🙏

[@thirdtothesixthcollectible9582]

Can this thrive in North texas zone 8A

[@anthonyp2312]

When you say south.......... Like south Florida ? Lol really trying to figure out how to grow on of these here 😢

[@franklevantini3239]

Me misses spruce trees since a move to puetro rico. Blue spruce white spruce Norway spruce. Juniper are fine here. Adapt to all climates finding out. But doubt spruce trees adapt to it. Think they like cold.

[@markwebb5996]

What is the soil PH there?

[@lighthope3519]

deer will eat this blue spruce ?

[@timothybender]

Nope, they are deer resistant trees.

[@zizzy14]

I wish they would develop a blue spruce for zone 9a. 🥺 I want one so bad!

[@tfinvold]

Blue spruces can grow in zone 9a/9b near the Pacific Ocean in California all over the place. Thing is they need mild summer temps or at least shade during the heat of the day and not soggy soil. Their branching pattern is a little different but as long as you have the watering schedule right you should be fine, they are way more capable than we are told but they generally have issues in super humid places that really seems to do them in.

[@zizzy14]

@@tfinvold I'm zone 9a in TX, our summers are anything but mild. We had a horrible drought this summer. 3 months of no rain and temps over 100° daily. 😬 So I guess no blue spruces for me. 😭💔

[@bluejay3945]

If anything Isley is as good at marketing as Mr. Maple Pricea pungens is native to the central Rockies and typically listed to zone 7. Personally I would never recommend it for 7b. Here in 7a it is just about died out due to bagworms, red spider mite etc The summer humidity is too much for it . The Isley rep has to be scratching his head over your 6 yr old but I’ll bet you that it’s just a function of time Fat Albert is just a selection of picea pungens. It doesn’t change its biological limitations. With all the wonderful evergreens suitable in 7b I think you do your customers a disservice even recommending this conifer. Isley carries great dwarf selections of Cedrus deodara that are blue and more zone realistic

[@skgreenhouse]

I appreciate your input and thank you so much for taking the time to watch the video! Respectfully, I will have to disagree with you. We've sold Fat Alberts in this zone for the last 10 years and have had 0 complaints from customers that I know of. Spider mites and bag worms are something that can be treated. I cover this is some of our other videos. What a plant is bred with can make a lot of difference as far as zone suitability. There are plenty of other Picea Pungens that I wouldn't reccomend for Zone 7b. Fat Albert just happens to be one we have had a lot of success with.

[@williamcody9063]

Hello there! I want to be the first to tell you, you in fact can grow not only Blue Spruce but Norway as well! I live in northwest Alabama, 7B and have had a regular variety blue spruce for 10 years! It was a foot or 2 when planted and now approaching 8 feet tall! It almost died the following years after planted but thank the Lord I gave it a chance! It repaired itself and looks like a spruce tree you’d see in the North!

[@bluejay3945]

@@williamcody9063 hey William! Great job but here’s my opinion. You plant a tree for the future when it really comes into its own like a white oak and Tupelo. Problem with blue spruce in a humid hot summer is that it’s just a matter of time before stress leads to mites that leads to blight etc. Just passed the entrance to a quarry near us that has at least a dozen 15 ft Colorado blue spruce all dead and looking like skeletons. Norway spruce is a warrior. Grows in some harsh environments but that’s exactly how it looks with age….like a haggard old war hero. Don’t know your specific tree needs but there are far better alternatives. If you want to push the envelope there are a few heat tolerant firs that may do well fit for you. They are absolutely beautiful with age. Tony Avent at Plant Delights Nursery has a fir outside his office in Raleigh NC that is spectacular. Good luck my friend and hope you have a great year

[@vadhankikobidze5722]

@@bluejay3945 Bagworms and mites are the least of Blue Spruce's problems in the south. Rhizosphaera and Stigmina Needle Cast fungus, as well as Phytophthora Root Rot fungus will attack the tree both above and below the ground. The real test is planting a Colorado spruce where it gets sprayed by lawn sprinklers. Show me a picea pungens that gets sprayed by sprinklers and still looks good and then I will admit I am wrong.

[@bluejay3945]

@@vadhankikobidze5722 thank you for the more detailed information. I did not want to dive in that deeply It just continues to irk me that the nursery trade continues to push old school plants that have clearly shown impressive limitations rather than develop new material. It all boils down to the American anthem, “ I WANT color, flowers, and low maintenance!” hence a tree native to higher elevations of the Rockies was used up and down the eastern seaboard. The only innovation I’m seeing in shrubs and tress is coming from Europe. The national arboretum used to put out great introductions but I think the creators are either deceased or too old to care. As long as the public continues to support big box store crap over the retail nursery center trade I fully expect an end to American horticulture but people are so naive to the fact. I laugh every time we pass by some McMansion and see skeletal remains of Leyland Cypress, Himalayan white birch and Colorado blue spruce

[@richardg4764]

Plant it and water it. It’s not that difficult.