Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Colorado Blue Spruce bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Colorado Blue Spruce, Blue Spruce, Prickly Spruce, Silver Spruce (Picea pungens).

More about colorado blue spruce

About Colorado Blue Spruce

Picea pungens · also called Colorado Blue Spruce, Blue Spruce · flowering

Colorado Blue Spruce is one of the most recognisable conifers in cultivation, celebrated for its striking silver-blue to steel-blue foliage and stiff, symmetrical pyramidal form. Native to the Rocky Mountains, it is widely planted as a specimen tree, windbreak, and in formal landscapes. Exceptionally cold-hardy and adaptable, it performs best in full sun with good air circulation.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons colorado blue spruce isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming colorado blue spruce traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding colorado blue spruce a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get colorado blue spruce to flower

Maximise sun. Give colorado blue spruce the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for colorado blue spruce and get the feeding right with the colorado blue spruce fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Colorado Blue Spruce flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full colorado blue spruce care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Colorado Blue Spruce blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my colorado blue spruce flower?

Colorado Blue Spruce blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make colorado blue spruce bloom?

Give colorado blue spruce the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does colorado blue spruce normally bloom?