Several cultivars are available. Will tolerate poor, gravelly soils. Protect from harsh winter winds. Picea pungens Colorado Spruce 30' 60' in height, 10' 20' wide Smaller and dwarf cultivars are available. A dense, regular, narrow to broad pyramid with tiers of horizontal stiff branches to the ground, sometimes losing their lower limbs and becoming straggly and irregular with age.
Most species grow to become large trees, but several types remain small.
Pines are generally more tolerant of adverse soil, exposure, and city conditions than species of Picea or Abies . Full sun sites are best for pines, and they require well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Pines withstand pruning and can be maintained as hedges, screens, and windbreaks. However, it is important to note that unlike spruce and fir, almost all pines lose lower limbs as they mature, so the hedge or screen effect is eventually lost. Water newly planted trees regularly for the first year.