Tree of the Week - June 28, 2004

Norway Spruce

Picea abies--Norway Spruce 

Hardiness Zones: 3 to 6 
Height: 50-60 ft
Spread: 25-40 ft
Form: pyramidal 
Type: narrow-leaved evergreen tree 
Annual Growth Rate: up to 3 feet

Comments: Norway Spruce can grow 80 to 100 feet tall and spread 25 to 40 feet but it is usually smaller in landscape situations. Many cultivars are shrub-like. Norway Spruce is a pyramidal tree with graceful, drooping branchlets and lustrous, dark green foliage at maturity. The long cones provide additional interest. 

Cultivars: 

'Acrocona' - Cone formation occurs on young plants. Usually forms a broad, slower-growing pyramid. 
'Elegans' - A low, dome-shaped plant. 
'Iseli Green Mound' - A mounded dwarf. 
'Little Gem' - A dwarf with tiny needles and very dense habit. 
'Nidiformis' - Bird's Nest Spruce. Dense mound with a depression in the center. Slow growing, 2 to 4 inches a year. 
'Pendula' - A weeping form having dark green needles. If not staked it can be used as a ground cover. 

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