How to Germinate Colorado Blue Spruce Seeds
The Colorado Blue Spruce tree (Picea pungens) is a medium-sized evergreen that grows slowly and steadily. It is native to the Rocky Mountains in the United States, enjoying a cool and humid climate. The Colorado spruce can withstand drought and severe cold better than any other species of spruce. In nature, Colorado Blue Spruce seeds germinate in the spring or summer, after dispersal from the tree. Many gardeners have found that germinating Colorado spruce seeds is most successful when you simulate the natural germination conditions.
Place your Colorado Blue Spruce seeds on a layer of mineral soil. Colorado Blue Spruce seeds will germinate on a wide range of media, but they will germinate quicker on mineral soil because this mimics its natural germination conditions. Mineral soils include sandy, loamy and clayey types that are available at garden stores.
- The Colorado Blue Spruce tree (Picea pungens) is a medium-sized evergreen that grows slowly and steadily.
- In nature, Colorado Blue Spruce seeds germinate in the spring or summer, after dispersal from the tree.
Keep the seeds moist but not waterlogged. Sprinkle the seeds with clean water once or twice a day, as needed.
Maintain daytime temperatures between 55 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Adjust your nighttime temperatures to slightly cooler, but keep the temperature between 45 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Seedlings are more sensitive to proper daytime temperatures than nighttime temperatures.
Provide adequate supplemental light. Expose your seedlings to 16 or more hours of direct light per day to encourage the seedling to grow continuously. If you provide fewer than 12 hours of light per day, the seeds will become dormant within a few weeks.
- Keep the seeds moist but not waterlogged.
- Sprinkle the seeds with clean water once or twice a day, as needed.
Allow the seedlings to root and sprout in the mineral soil. If you need to, transfer the seedlings to a deeper planter container filled with mineral soil as they grow.
Tip
If you cannot provide your seedlings with at least 12 hours of light per day, give the seeds two hours of red light or high-intensity white light in the middle of the 12-hour night period. Or, give the seedlings one-minute light breaks every 30 minutes during the night. This will prevent dormancy.
Warning
Don’t use a stratification process when germinating your Colorado Blue Spruce seeds. Stratification, which is placing seeds in cold temperatures for a period of time prior to germination, is not necessary to germinate the seeds.
Related Articles
References
Resources
Tips
- If you cannot provide your seedlings with at least 12 hours of light per day, give the seeds two hours of red light or high-intensity white light in the middle of the 12-hour night period. Or, give the seedlings one-minute light breaks every 30 minutes during the night. This will prevent dormancy.
Warnings
- Don't use a stratification process when germinating your Colorado Blue Spruce seeds. Stratification, which is placing seeds in cold temperatures for a period of time prior to germination, is not necessary to germinate the seeds.
Writer Bio
Sarah Terry brings over 10 years of experience writing novels, business-to-business newsletters and a plethora of how-to articles. Terry has written articles and publications for a wide range of markets and subject matters, including Medicine & Health, Eli Financial, Dartnell Publications and Eli Journals.
