Among the most popular varieties of Christmas tree is a native of the Rocky Mountains: the Colorado blue spruce. Loved for its classic conical shape and silvery-blue needles that don’t shed easily after being cut, it can grow to more than 130 feet and was declared the state tree in 1939.
It also grows beyond our borders. So even though many of the National Christmas Trees displayed at the US Capitol have been blue spruce, only one came from Colorado. The state’s other contributions to the People’s Tree, as it’s also called, were Engelmann spruces. Tradition has it, each year’s tree takes a tour around its home state before heading to D.C. In 2020, it was a 55-foot-tall Engelmann spruce that started near Telluride, towed behind a big rig in a giant cradle with a water bladder secured to its trunk, and decorated with thousands of handcrafted ornaments from the people of Colorado.
About Colorado Postcards
Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado.
