
Norway Spruce
- Botanical Name
- Picea abies
- Min Zone
- 3
- Max Zone
- 7
- Height
- 40 to 60 feet
- Width
- 25 to 30 feet
- Flowers
- Small male flowers are pinkish-red and clustered along the stems, female flowers are reddish-pink and upright on the tips of branches, once pollinated the flowers turn green and hang downward as cones ripen
- Fruit
- Cone: Narrow, 4 to 6 inches long, 1.5 to 2 inches wide, light green maturing to brown
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Moist, sandy acidic
- Planting & Care
- Transplant large size plants (3 to 4 feet) balled and burlap
- Prefers colder climates and acidic soils
- Because of its large size, Norway spruce is often used as a windbreak, screen or large hedge in larger landscapes
- Not a tree for smaller yards
- The very shallow, spreading root system benefits from a 3 to 4 inch layer of organic mulch to moderate soil temperature and conserve moisture
- Does poorly in shady sites
- Large cones can be a little consideration
- Problems
- Spruce gall adelgid, red spiders, tip weevils, cytospora canker, Rhizosphaera needle cast, bagworm, mites, budworm, borers
- Varieties
- Acrocona - broad-spreading pyramidal form, bright red female cones, up to 20 feet
- Bird's Nest Spruce (Picea abies 'Nidiformis') - dwarf shrub form, outward spreading branches with a slight depression in the center - resembling a bird's nest, 3 to 6 feet tall and wide
- Cupressina - narrow variety, 25 to 30 feet tall by 6 feet wide, more tolerant of heavy snow loads
- Pendula - weeping form, 12 to 15 feet tall and wide, often used as a specimen
- Pumila - dwarf cultivar, 3 to 4 feet tall by 4 to 5 feet wide, rouned form
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