When it comes to picking out the perfect Christmas tree, the Blue Spruce is a top-tier favorite right alongside the classic Nordmann Fir. You’ll often see them sold in pots at garden centers, which seems like a great “eco-friendly” idea. However, I’ll be honest with you: it’s rarely a long-term success story. These store-bought potted trees aren’t usually set up for a long life.
The Potted Blue Spruce as a Christmas Tree
If you decide to buy a potted Blue Spruce to use as your holiday centerpiece, just be aware that these trees often only survive for a few weeks or months. Here’s the secret: to get them into those decorative pots, growers often hack back the root system. Since Blue Spruces are shallow-rooted trees that need space to spread out, they don’t take kindly to that kind of “haircut.”
A much better alternative is to start your own seedling. You can grow it in a pot yourself until it reaches about five feet tall. That way, you have a healthy, homegrown Christmas tree to enjoy for several years before it gets too big for the living room.
How Do I Care for My Potted Tree?
If your goal is to eventually move your Blue Spruce out into the garden, hydration is the name of the game. You’ll want to give it a good soak about every two days. Just do a quick finger test first—if the soil is still damp, hold off. You want moist soil, but you definitely don’t want the roots sitting in a swamp (root rot is no joke!). Also, try to keep its time in your heated living room as short as possible.
What to Do With Your Blue Spruce After the Holidays
The longer a Blue Spruce sits in a cozy, heated house, the more it dries out. My advice? After about eight to ten days, start transitioning it back to cooler temperatures. While you *could* technically plant it outside during a frost-free stretch of winter, it’s usually much safer to wait until spring.
Keep your tree in a frost-free garage, shed, or greenhouse in the meantime so you can keep up with the watering. While you’re at it, take a peek at the root ball. If the roots look cramped or bent but haven’t been severely chopped off, go ahead and move it into a larger container to give it some breathing room.
The Quick Takeaway:
- Water every 2 days while it’s indoors.
- Limit “indoor time” to 8–10 days max.
- Acclimatize it to the cold gradually.
- Wait until spring to plant it in the ground.
Pro Tip: Potted Blue Spruces from the store aren’t always built to last. But, if you find one with a healthy, intact root ball, it’s definitely worth a shot to try and transplant it!
