Picea pungens 'Globosa' / globose Colorado spruce

Picea pungens 'Globosa' is possibly the best known and most popular of the dwarf Colorado blue spruces. Its branching is short and dense and its needles are sickle shaped with stunning silvery blue color. Many similar compact dwarf, globose clones exist. In fact 'Globosa' is virtually indistinguishable from Picea pungens 'Montgomery.' To maintain the desired globose or spreading habit, prune out any upright or vigorous shoots.

After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 2 to 2.5 feet (60 - 70 cm) tall and 2 to 3 feet (60 - 90 cm) wide, an annual growth rate of 2 to 3 inches (5 - 7.5 cm)

This cultivar originated as a seedling selected in 1937 by Anthony Kluys of Boskoop, The Netherlands and formally described in 1949 by P. den Ouden in his text, Coniferen, Ephedra en Ginkgo.

Picea pungens 'Globosa' — an18-year-old specimen in a private garden in Glendale Heights, Illinois.
Photo by Ron Schlak

Picea pungens 'Globosa' / globose Colorado spruce

RECOMMENDED HARDINESS ZONES:
3 (-30 to -40 F / -34.4 to -40 C)
9 (20 to 30 F / -1.1 to -6.7 C)

HORTICULTURAL STATUS: Established
ORIGIN: Seedling Selection
COLOR: Blue
TRINOMIAL TYPE: Cultivar
GROWTH SHAPE: Globe or Globose
GROWTH SIZE: Dwarf: 1 to 6 inches (2.5 – 15 cm) per year / 1 to 5 feet (0.3 – 1.5 m) after 10 years

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Comments

Rosemary

My 'Globosa' Colorado Spruce needles are brown and dry - Plant is in full sun in a large container. Does this need feeding?

Maxwell Cohn

no, I'm afraid it needs replacing. Brown and dry needles indicate a dead plant.

James Bryan

Please provide its heat tolerance.

Maxwell Cohn

Hi James, Picea pungens is heat-tolerant well into the 100s in Mediterranean climates, but not in humid, continental or semi-tropical climates.

Barby

Is Picea glauca globosa succeptible to disease or is it resistant? It would be planted in northern Illinois.

Maxwell Cohn

Hi Barby ... since it's still a Picea pungens, it's just as susceptible to all of the fungal plagues that all Colorado spruces succumb to in the midwest.

Ronald Schlak

Barby I have an 18 year old 'Globosa' in Glendale Heights. After about 15 years of age, it started to show signs of needle disease. I hope trimming & spraying will make it last longer.

Dylan

Is there any literature to determine whether there is a distinguishable difference between 'Globosa' and 'Glauca Globosa'? Different growers or resources seem to list them differently, but I haven't found any one source that lists both simultaneously. I have seen limited evidence that growth habit and foliage color may differ between them, but it may well be circumstantial.