{"product_id":"picea-x-blue-sky","title":"Blue Sky Spruce - Picea ‘Blue Sky’","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrice includes everything:\u003c\/strong\u003e the plant, free delivery and professional installation by our planting team. One price, whole job done.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eBlue Sky Spruce - Picea ‘Blue Sky’\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlue spruces are grown for one thing above all others: the waxy bloom on their needles, which reads as a hard silver blue no broadleaf plant can match. ‘Blue Sky’ is a selected blue form of \u003cem\u003ePicea\u003c\/em\u003e, holding a dense, symmetrical conical outline with stiff, sharply pointed needles arranged around the shoot. It is strictly a cool climate plant in Australia, at home in Tasmania, the Victorian highlands, the Southern Highlands, Canberra and the Adelaide Hills, and unhappy in humid coastal summers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eWhy Blue Sky Spruce\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColour intensity\u003c\/strong\u003e: The blue is structural, coming from wax on the needle surface, so it holds through the entire year.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormal cone\u003c\/strong\u003e: Growth is naturally symmetrical and tiered, giving a formal outline with no shaping required.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCold hardiness\u003c\/strong\u003e: Hard frost, snow load and freezing wind are its native conditions rather than a stress.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSlow and controlled\u003c\/strong\u003e: Modest annual extension means it stays in proportion to a garden for decades.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContrast value\u003c\/strong\u003e: Against green hedging or dark stone the blue foliage separates instantly at a distance.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eIdeal Applications\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCool climate lawn specimen\u003c\/strong\u003e: Standing alone on turf, the full skirt to ground level is displayed at its best.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLiving Christmas tree\u003c\/strong\u003e: Its symmetry and stiff branching suit the role, either in the ground or a large container.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWindbreak corner\u003c\/strong\u003e: Grouped on an exposed boundary in a highland garden it filters cold wind year round.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColour accent in a conifer bed\u003c\/strong\u003e: Set among green and gold conifers the blue provides the anchor point.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eSpecimen \u0026amp; Installation\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing (screening\/hedge):\u003c\/strong\u003e 3 to 3.5m centres for a filtering shelter row\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing (feature\/avenue):\u003c\/strong\u003e 4 to 5m from buildings and other trees so the lower branches are never shaded out\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBest Planting Season:\u003c\/strong\u003e Autumn or early spring in cool districts, avoiding frozen or waterlogged ground\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSoil \u0026amp; Drainage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Deep, moist, free draining, slightly acidic to neutral soil. It dislikes compacted wet clay and hot humid summers\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEstablishment Care:\u003c\/strong\u003e Water deeply once a week through the first two summers, aiming for consistent moisture at depth rather than surface wetting. Mulch to 75mm well beyond the drip line to keep the root zone cool, avoid cultivating around the shallow roots, and never prune the leader, as a spruce cannot rebuild a lost apex.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003ePlant Details\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 to 8m in most Australian gardens over twenty years, taller in genuinely cold districts\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWidth:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3 to 4m\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGrowth Rate:\u003c\/strong\u003e Slow\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFoliage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Evergreen\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLight:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full sun\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNative to:\u003c\/strong\u003e The Rocky Mountains of western North America\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFlower Colour:\u003c\/strong\u003e Insignificant, cones only\n\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nursery Direct","offers":[{"title":"70L","offer_id":59795325616414,"sku":"ND-1357-70L","price":1750.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/2536\/8862\/files\/mTpkua7esQHt5TA1tjwRB_95AmxrxH.jpg?v=1787313364","url":"https:\/\/nurserydirect.com.au\/products\/picea-x-blue-sky","provider":"Nursery Direct","version":"1.0","type":"link"}