Fat Albert Colorado Blue Spruce

Fat Albert is a vigorous, densely branched Colorado blue spruce with a broad pyramidal outline and bright blue needles. The American Conifer Society reports a typical ten-year landscape size of 10 to 15 feet tall, about two-thirds as wide, and growth near one foot per year; these are early landscape dimensions, not ultimate maturity. The tree naturally develops a central leader and generally does not need staking when young. Choose a sunny, open location with room for the broad crown. Colorado spruce is adapted to cool, summer-moist mountain climates, and the species profile notes hardiness to USDA Zone 3. The American Conifer Society records that Jean Iseli selected the original seedling in 1981 and that Don Howse named it Fat Albert. [The Fat Albert cultivar profile](https://conifersociety.org/conifers/picea-pungens-fat-albert) describes the selection, origin, color, and ten-year growth; [the Colorado spruce profile](https://conifersociety.org/conifers/picea-pungens) provides species-level context. ## Maintenance Water regularly through establishment and during extended dry spells. Remove damaged branches, and retain the natural leader and pyramidal form rather than shearing the crown.