£59 – £159
Although at its ‘bluest’ in the spring, the Blue Spruce will still often have a blue tinge at Christmas time. This tree also has a beautiful Christmassy scent. The needles are slightly longer than the Norway spruce, and it also has better needle retention. It’s important to note that the Blue Spruce has fairly sharp needles, so this may not be the best tree if you have young children. They will keep the cat off the tree, though! Read more.
Companies and growers measure Christmas trees in lots of ways, so on our website we’ve tried to keep it relatively simple: our measurements in feet are a minimum height to the top of the tree. So, if you order a 6ft tree it will be at least 6ft from the base of the trunk to the tippy top.
The long bit on the top of the tree (where you put your star or fairy) is called the ‘leader’. With natural products it’s not a perfect science, so this can be quite long on some trees and much shorter on others. A 6ft tree might be bang on 6ft, or might be a bit taller. Don’t forget to account for this potential extra height – sometimes up to 1.5ft for taller trees - but if your tree has a long leader, you can always cut a bit off.
If you’re putting your tree in any sort of stand, that will add some height to the tree, so don’t forget to factor it in to the overall measurement! If you need a stand, we sell them here.
Bear in mind that the taller your tree, the wider it will be at the base. Nordman Firs and Norway Spruces in particular get quite big and bushy as they get taller, so make sure you’ve got space!
Just wanted to say that our tree has been superb this year. We have moved into a much smaller property so went for a Serbian Spruce as it was a slimmer tree. It is still looking beautiful and hasn’t dropped. It will be rather sad to take it down this weekend.
The Blue Spruce (Picea Pungens) is for life, not just for Christmas. By that we mean it’s a pretty popular tree amongst keen gardeners the world over. Also called the Colorado Blue Spruce, this tree hails from over the pond; it’s native to the Rocky Mountains and grows naturally in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. Unless you call those fine states home, you’ll most likely have seen it growing as an ornamental tree in parks or gardens.
You might’ve guessed that the needles on this tree have a blue-ish colour. We say blue-ish because the colour can vary a fair amount; some trees will have a striking blue appearance, some are more silvery-blue, some bluey-green and some much more green with a hint of blueness. You’ll see in the gallery below two examples growing side by side that have fairly different colours.
It’s Latin name, Picea Pungens, might make you think it’s named for it’s strong smell. If so, tut tut; you need to brush up on your Latin. Pungens actually means ‘pricking’ or ‘puncturing’, and it’s a pretty apt name – the needles on a Blue Spruce are extremely sharp. Even Farmer Tom, with hands tough and weathered beyond his years, will tend to stick a pair of gloves on when handling a Blue Spruce.
The tree does have a great smell too, though. Similar to the Norway Spruce, it’s a piney smell – very fresh and perhaps a touch sweeter than the Norway Spruce.
The Blue Spruce is relatively slow-growing and will only reach up to around 23m. It grows in a conical shape, with the strong branches reaching horizontally outward.
Identifying a Blue Spruce isn’t too hard – look for the colour and also the thick, sharp, rigid needles. Fresh needles (new growth) will often have a white powdery coating, which gives the trees a silvery appearance from a distance. It’s also the reason that the Blue Spruce can appear to be it’s bluest around Spring and Summer, with it being a bit darker green later in the season.
Most people choose the Blue Spruce because it’s unusual colour offers something different from your typical Christmas tree. It’s also popular for it’s:
Because of the sharp needles, it’s not a great choice if you have toddlers about the house.
If you want something a bit different, the Blue Spruce is a spectacular Christmas tree.
Companies and growers measure Christmas trees in lots of ways, so on our website we’ve tried to keep it relatively simple: our measurements in feet are a minimum height to the top of the tree. So, if you order a 6ft tree it will be at least 6ft from the base of the trunk to the tippy top – typically, it will be a bit taller. Don’t forget to account for this potential extra height – sometimes up to 1.5ft for taller trees.
The long bit on the top of the tree (where you put your star or fairy) is called the ‘leader’. This can be quite long on some trees and much shorter on others – just natural variance – so growers account for this when measuring by taking a height to halfway up the leader (halfway between the top set of branches and the top of the tree). Just to confuse things a bit further, the industry standard is centimetre ranges. Here’s a handy conversion:
Tree ordered - Height to halfway up leader:
4ft tree - 125-150cm
5ft tree - 150-175cm
6ft tree - 175-200cm
7ft tree - 200-225cm
8ft tree - 225-250cm
9ft tree - 250-300cm
With natural products it’s not a perfect science, so these ranges act as a guide and your tree may be a little outside of the ranges in either direction.
If you’re putting your tree in any sort of stand, that will add some height to the tree, so don’t forget to factor it in to the overall measurement! If you need a stand, we sell them here.
Bear in mind that the taller your tree, the wider it will be at the base. Nordman Firs and Norway Spruces in particular get quite big and bushy as they get taller, so make sure you’ve got space!