Norway Spruce

(Pinaceae - Pine Family)

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• Form
  • large evergreen specimen tree or shade tree
  • maturing at up to 80' tall by 30' wide under urban conditions, but much larger than that in its native habitat
  • upright pyramidal growth habit, becoming somewhat conical or irregular at the top of the crown with advanced maturity
  • medium growth rate

• Culture
  • full sun to partial sun
  • prefers a moist, acidic, well-drained soil in full sun, but can adapt to just about any poor soil, clay soil, dry soil, and various soil pH conditions, as long as it is not placed in wet soils or shady sites
  • propagated by seeds or rooted stem cuttings
  • Pine Family, with virtually no disease or pest problems that occur
  • abundantly available in ball and burlap form
  • young trees are usually sheared during nursery production for a fuller, more dense appearance at transplanting, as the young tree is naturally very open in its branching habit
  • recovers quickly from transplant shock, having rapid root regeneration and exceptional adaptability as a transplant to dry conditions during re-establishment
  • as such, it is a dependable favorite for screen or windbreak plantings, which are often neglected (and for all practical purposes not watered except by rain and snow) after transplanting
  • trees of 4' to 10' size should be staked for two years after transplanting to prevent windthrow (larger than this, the rootball is of sufficient weight and width to discourage windthrow-induced leaning and not require staking)

• Foliage
  • foliage emerges as medium-green soft needles from 0.5" to 1" long, matures to a dull shiny dark green, and remains on the branches for several years, creating a dense foliage canopy
  • needles are angled forward towards the end of the stem, and are therefore relatively "soft" to the grip of a hand around the stem
  • an exception occurs on the rapidly-growing terminal leader, where the needles are sparse, pressed tightly against the thick stem, and curve slightly around it

• Flowers
  • ornamentally inconspicuous, due to their small size and presence only in the canopy of relatively mature trees (starting at about 30 years of age)
  • monoecious, with the staminate flowers in the leaf axils and pistillate flowers at the termini of stems, both being pink-purple in color and concentrated in the crowns of mature trees

• Fruits
  • cones to 5" long, slightly curved, in the upper one-third of mature trees at the branch tips, in some years very dense and making the upper branches noticeably pendulous, while in other years sparsely present
  • light green with a purplish cast when immature, becoming tan-brown with maturity and slowly abscising

• Twigs
  • light brown with a slightly orange cast, having needle scars that are raised on the young branches (or old stems) where needle abscission has occurred
  • branches develop a distinctive outline with age, being downswept with upturned ends, and having vertically hanging branchlets, or "skirts" as they are called

• Trunk
  • thick gray scales with age (often unnoticed, as the lower branches are often allowed to remain on mature trees)
  • Spruce wood, being lightweight and relatively soft but strong, is important to the timber and paper pulp industries throughout the world, wherever native stands of mature trees can be logged

• ID Summary
  • Norway Spruce has dark green needles that are dense, to 1" long, and lean forward on the young stems of its branches, but are sparse and pressed tightly against the upright terminal leader; in either case they are "soft" to the grip of a hand around the stem, as compared to Blue Spruce (Picea pungens glauca) or Green Spruce (Picea pungens), the other two common landscape Spruces
  • mature branches have a downswept angle with upturned ends (resembling the curvature of the giant slalom in snowski competition), with pendulous branchlets (skirts) hanging from the main branches
  • its upright pyramidal growth habit (to 80' tall in urban settings) is often the largest evergreen tree in the landscape

• Function
  • specimen or focal point pyramidal evergreen tree, as a dark green accent having a strong vertical architectural feature
  • group planting as a windbreak or visual screen, often in a linear or staggered row
  • evergreen shade tree with maturity

• Texture
  • medium texture (medium-bold texture in youth if it is not sheared [due to the relatively sparse branching that naturally fills in with age])
  • thick density (thin density in youth if it is not sheared)

• Assets
  • consistent medium growth rate offers relatively rapid establishment of an evergreen conifer in the landscape
  • more urban-tolerant than other spruces, especially to drought, poor soils, and pollution, and also moderately tolerant of Winter salt spray, with exceptional cold-hardiness
  • one of the few narrowleaf evergreen trees with virtually no disease, pest, or physiological problems that arise under optimum or stressful conditions
  • classical alpine-tree shape (pyramidal, with downswept branches having upturned ends) is both ornamental and practical (tolerates or sheds a heavy snow load without branch damage)
  • pendulous branchlets on mature trees give a semi-weeping effect
  • branches and foliages densely to the ground (unless it is limbed up)

• Liabilities
  • although it is very drought tolerant, some young trees will exhibit dieback or death under severe heat and drought stress if not irrigated when recovering from transplant shock
  • surface roots with age (concealed by the basal branches unless the tree is limbed up)
  • when limbed up, the dense shade and surface roots prevent turfgrass growth underneath

• Habitat
  • zones 2 to 7
  • native to Northern and Central Europe

• Alternates
  • large evergreen conifers that are used as specimens, screens, or windbreaks in sunny sites (Abies concolor, Picea pungens, Pinus strobus, Pseudotsuga menziesii, etc.)
  • large decidous conifers for sunny sites (Larix decidua, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Pseudolarix kaempferi, and Taxodium distichum)

• Variants
  • Picea abies 'Nidiformis' - Bird's Nest Spruce - a miniature spreading shrub that is 1' tall by 2' wide at 10 years, and 2' tall by 3' wide at 20 years of age (a very slow growth rate), medium green to gray-green in foliage color, with a depression in the center of the shrub (and therefore a theoretical spot for a "bird's nest") in youth that levels out with age; best in sunny sites as a foundation, specimen, group planting, or facer shrub; a much slower-growing and smaller-maturing alternative to low shrub Junipers
  • Picea abies 'Pendula' - Weeping Norway Spruce - an irregularly-shaped, semi-weeping, specimen treeform plant, ranging from 10' to 15' tall with one or more terminal branches that flare horizontally outward then develop branchlets that weep, often staked during propagation and early growth to maintain an upright posture when young, and used as a specimen or focal point in the landscape at foundations, in centerpiece beds, at entranceways, or near bodies of water
  • Picea abies 'Pumila' - Improved Bird's Nest Spruce - a miniature shrub similar in appearance to 'Nidiformis', except that the foliage is dark green, thinner, and more forward-pointing, with a slightly more vigorous growth rate

• Translation
  • Picea is the Latin name for Spruce, derived from the word pix, or pitch, referring to the sticky resin in Spruce bark.
  • abies is the Latin name for Fir, another type of evergreen conifer.

• Purpose
  • Norway Spruce is the largest common Spruce, serving as an evergreen focal point, specimen, screen, or windbreak in the landscape, being very common because it is adaptable to many adverse soil and climate conditions and having a relatively rapid establishment.

• Summary
  • Picea abies is a large pyramidal evergreen tree that serves as a common accent, screen, or windbreak in the landscape.