It is down to genetics. There's nothing you can do to change the colour.

Resin

BLUE spruce is a misnomer ....

they are all Picea pungens ... some are blue.. some are green ... most are green ...

there have been selections of blue ones.. and they are usually named ... take for example P. p. 'Hoopsi' .... below...

if yours isn't blue... as noted there is nothing you can do .. except cut it down for an Xmas tree.. and buy a blue one... or enjoy it for its greenness ...

ken
Hoopsi spring color over old blue color
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Hoopsi later in the season
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"if yours isn't blue... as noted there is nothing you can do .. except cut it down for an Xmas tree.. and buy a blue one... or enjoy it for its greenness "

I'd go for the "enjoy it for its greenness" option!

i would expect no other answer from the purist resin .. lol ...

but he wouldn't call it a BLUE spruce .... nor would he complain it isn't blue ...

BTW ... p pungens suffer from some problem.. which affects older trees.. and they look rattier and rattier over the years .... it isn't neglect .... trees care for themselves.. but for the disease .. which i don't know the name of .... have a professional look at it.. and decide if it is worth saving.. OR... get us some pix so the sperts can diagnose the problem ...

short of spending hundreds of dollars on POSSIBLE cures.. there might not be anything to do with your pungens ... if so, spend the money on removal and replacement with a better cultivar ....

i have made the mistake of trying to save historical plants at new homes.. but learned much too late.. that starting over is better than struggling with someone elses problems...

good luck

ken

I'd take a green one,heck i'd take any one,i love spruces and firs. Doesn't the blue come from a powdery glaucous coating? (As in Picea glauca and Abies pinsapo 'Glauca' )

Ohhhh, powdery coating makes sense now that you mention it! I actually rubbed some of the silvery blue off a few of my 'Hoopsi' needles as I was inspecting it the other day! I thought that was very strange... and interesting.

in hosta the blue is closer to a wax ... i presume its the same with conifers ... it all rubs off.. or is worn off by sprinklers.. or thunderstorm on a hot day ... some plants hold it better than others ... or worn by winter.. and that is why they are much duller.. or greener come spring ....

the link is to google.. have fun reading ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: picea pungens disease

Ken,if that is the case then there's hope when new needles come next year,as these will develop a fresh blue coating. I think...;)

Yep, the blueness is due to a white wax that covers the stomata to reduce water loss. It can rub off, or dissolve off in oil-based insecticidal sprays. Once lost from a needle, it doesn't re-form; for the tree to become blue again after losing the wax, you have to wait for the new growth the next spring.

Resin

If the plant "gentically" is green, it is hard to increase the blue. BUT.....growers in the Pacific North West have found keeping the Mg(Magnesium) levels high helps a lot with "glauca" conifers. I remember several years ago speaking with someone having done research in Canada on conifers, high Mg pays off in many areas............

So, where would I get the Mg from?

Magnesium sulphate ("epsom salt") should be easy to get. It won't need a lot.

Resin

Yes,Epsom Salt would be the quickest(and easiest to locate), next would be Potassium magnesium sulfate (a soil topdress would/could last 3-4 months+?), but long term would be via dolomitic lime. I would "guesstimate" a fall application for when the plants are "loading"/storing nutrients would be the best time........

Yea Mg is used to change the colour of Hydrangea flowers-only downside is it changes the pH of the soil,but obviously only a tiny amount is used.

Over here we say baking powder for Hydrangeas,don't know if its called summat else in the states

boy .. but we digress .... lol

first ... i think you are giving false hope regarding soil amendments .... the original poster should NEVER amend his soil.. without a soil test .... to start with ...

he should NEVER presume that simply because Auburn wrote a paper about it.. that it has any bearing on his garden in BC ....

his original post stated the pungens has been in place for years .. so we can rule out all issues of transplant or immaturity ....

he did NOT indicate whether pungens grows in BC .. or whether there are any 'blue' spruces in the area ... presuming there are ... they .. being trees .. ought to be able to fend for themselves...these are not foo foo plants.. that thrive on the basis of whether or not they are neglected ... if they grow.. and if they thrive ... a little MG is NOT going to do anything for a mature plant ...

IMHO .. his base problem is the perception that blue spruce are actually all blue ... you either have a blue one.. or you don't... there isn't going to be anything you can do to turn a green pungens blue ..... or make a slightly blue one bluer ...

PLEASE.. do NOT amend your soil... unless a professional soil test indicates that something is lacking.. and that you can actually add back enough of it.. to make any impact at all on a mature tree ... if this is a 50 foot tree ... you may have to be adding Mg to the area 50 to 100 feet from the trunk ...

i though BC was much warmer than zone 5????

anyway ... good luck

ken

"i though BC was much warmer than zone 5????"

It's a big place! The coast down by Vancouver Island is zone 9, while the interior mountains are down to zone 2, maybe even zone 1.

Resin

Ken,

As you have posted via methods or enviroment from what is/can be done in this part of the USA -vs- yours, what works for you does not translate into working for everyone else in the USA.....soil and enviroment play a big role.
1. Yes...if a plant (Pp sp. glauca)is genetically programed to be green vs blue...nutrition may help, but will not change it's genetic's.
2. Mg is a very soluble nutrient, solubility varies from the source and its retention can vary based on soil type...we get a lot of rain in the PNW,mmmm...rain..soluble...flushed out of the root zone...hint hint.
3. There are a lot of well estabished Pp sp. glauca growing in the PNW that rarely get, if any fertilizer, much less Mg and they stay blue (yes...we get back into genetics/ seed strain).
4. Growers here (and elsewhere in North America...Canada....do not know how much is published, I talk to the growers), in an irrigated enviroment, have found/seen that supplemental Mg is VERY beneficial to the "glauca" coloration on Colorado Blue Spruce seedlings and cultivars.
5. Mg is NOT a very antagonistic nutrient and adding some around the plant is not going to wreak havoc on its world...it is a cheap and simple way to see if it works.

Homeowner research CAN be cheap and enlightening....it either works or it does not............

schmoo .. i am of the belief.. that homeowners tend to be the biggest polluters in the world ... throwing chemicals.. and fertilizers.. and minerals.. around willy nilly based on any old wives tale they ever heard ...

ergo .. i never recommend that anything be done by homeowners.. or newbies ... unless something.. like a soil test.. indicates that they actually need something to be done...

this requirement.. probably creates a roadblock to action.. since most will never have the soil test done.. and will therefore never pour the stuff all over their yard ... lol

as you know.. professional growers.. use testing.. and apply only what is needed in very precise manners ...

anyway .. the discourse is wonderful...

ken

Yes, I would agree concerning HO and chemicals,etc. I always find it funny that here in Orygun, HO can buy pesticides that are "restricted use" to growers and farmers..strange world.
The biggest road block for a home owner having a soil analysis done is what to do with it or how to interpret it...not always easy for them to get a translation into a language they understand (it is not a precise science by any standards).
BUT..in this instance, Mag. sulfate is a soft? fertilizer, most? rates will rarely cause nutrient antagonisum and if it doesn't work...they can use it to soak their feet:-)......

Who you calling a HO?

Actually, I thought you can have too much Mg especially if you have an alkaline clay soil. Too much cuts down on the uptake of calcium and a few other nutrients Mg is a pretty abundant element on the planet so a deficiency is rare, but sandy acid soils can have it leach out quite easily.

tj

I got a soil test back and what a joke. No actual #'s for trace minerals or as they said they would deliver a 'rating' for my NPK. The guy just said that all three were very low and that I needed to use soil conditioners to break the clay apart and add something, I've already forgotten and it wasn't even a minute ago I got off the phone. Like I said earlier around here, 10 bucks well donated for nothing probably.

Anyway, I said to him, I plan on tilling live (weeds) along with broken down compost into the earth and his reply was that he didn't "know" if that would help with bringing my levels up. Of course he wants to sell me something in a bag.

Waste of both time and money.

My local extention offices don't do soil sampling testing so this was done through a local garden center. This fella says my 7.0 ph won't be conducive for conifers but I disagree.

What else is there to say, ya know?

.....nothing.....

later,

Dax