White spruce are planted in Ohio for screens and windbreaks. In addition, the white spruce is both grown and shipped into Ohio as Christmas trees. Foliage does not hold as well when cut as do the firs and the blue spruce. White spruce is sensitive to spruce mite and high temperatures in Ohio and has a shorter life span than the blue or Norway spruces. Colorado spruce has a splendid conical form for use as a lawn specimen.
Foliage is green, silver, or steel blue and sharp enough to draw blood.
Foliage color varies with the seedling or variety. Needles are borne at nearly right angles to the stem. When viewed from the end, the foliage is in a circular pattern. Brownish-yellow bud scales curve outward and are often rolled at the apex. The Koster's blue spruce is one of a number of varieties selected for its foliage color and is propagated by grafting upon seedlings of Colorado spruce or other spruce species.