Tree · Pinaceae
Norway Spruce
Picea abies
Tough, fast, and cold-hardy down to -40°F (-40°C), the Norway spruce grows into a towering evergreen with sweeping, pendulous branches.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 2–7
39–59 ft · 12–18 m
Overview
Norway spruce is the big, fast-growing evergreen behind countless windbreaks, screens, and old farmyard plantings across the cold north. Native to Europe, it has settled into temperate gardens everywhere, prized for how quickly it climbs and how much weather it shrugs off. Mature trees carry gracefully drooping branchlets that hang from upswept limbs, giving the whole tree a soft, weeping silhouette.
This is a tree for space and patience. It reaches well over 100 feet in the wild and a good 40 to 60 feet in a yard, with a broad pyramidal crown and a shallow root system that runs wide rather than deep. Long cones, the largest of any spruce, dangle from the upper branches and add to the show. Give it room and it becomes a landmark; crowd it against a house and you'll regret it within a decade.
What makes it such a workhorse is its toughness. It handles brutal cold, takes a range of sites, and stands up to the needlecast and canker diseases that plague fussier spruces. Keep its feet moist and its head in the sun and it asks for almost nothing else.
Care
The short version: full sun, moist but well-drained slightly acidic soil, and plenty of elbow room. It's cold-hardy and low-maintenance once established, needing little feeding and only light pruning.
Light
Norway spruce wants full sun and grows densest and healthiest with all-day light. It will take some partial sun, but a shaded tree thins out and grows more open, and good sun also keeps needle diseases at bay.
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist but well-drained, watering deeply while the tree establishes and through any drought. It has no patience for either extreme, sulking in soggy ground and struggling on hot, dry sites, so water roughly every 7 to 14 days when rain falls short.
Soil
Give it moist, well-drained, sandy loam on the acidic side, ideally a pH of 5.0 to 6.0. It adapts to a fair range of ground but resents heavy, waterlogged clay, where its shallow roots can't breathe.
Temperature
Few trees are tougher in the cold, taking temperatures from -40°F to 95°F (-40°C to 35°C). It thrives in the cool north and grows poorly where summers run long and hot.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity suits it fine, so there's no figure to aim for. Air movement counts for more, since still, crowded conditions invite the needlecast fungi that trouble stressed trees.
Feeding
An established Norway spruce rarely needs feeding and does well on its own in decent ground. If growth lags, a balanced slow-release feed in spring is plenty; rich soils may call for none at all.
Pruning
Keep pruning to a minimum, taking out dead, damaged, or crossing branches in late winter. Never top the tree, since that ruins its form. If a weevil kills the leader, train one upright side shoot to take its place.
Repotting
none
Size & spacing
This is a forest giant in the making, reaching 40 to 60 feet (12 to 18 m) tall and spreading 25 to 30 feet (7.5 to 9 m) across. Plant it well clear of buildings, drives, and utilities, because its shallow roots run wide and the crown only gets bigger.
When to plant
There's no harvest clock with a spruce, just the right window to get it in the ground. Plant in spring or early fall so the roots settle before the heat of summer or the deep freeze of winter, and it's hardy enough for the coldest zones, down through zone 2.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring or early fall
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 2–7
Temperature: down to -46°C
Troubleshooting
A healthy Norway spruce rarely gives trouble, and most of what does go wrong starts with a stressed or crowded tree. Watch the top shoot and the inner needles, since that's where the first signs show. Match what you see below, then act before a setback spreads.
Dead top shoot curled over like a shepherd's crook
That wilted, hooked leader is the work of the white pine weevil, whose larvae tunnel down inside the topmost shoot and kill it. Cut the dead leader out below the damage in mid to late spring, before the adults chew their way free, then train one upright side shoot to take over as the new top. A canker called Cytospora can cause similar dieback on a branch or leader, so look closely if the weevil isn't to blame.
Fix:
- Prune out and destroy the infested dead leader below the damage in mid to late spring before adults emerge
- Train an upright side shoot to become the new leader
- Maintain tree vigor with adequate water and mulch
Inner needles turning purple-brown and dropping from the bottom up
When older needles flush purple-brown and fall, starting low and climbing the tree, suspect Rhizosphaera needlecast or a related fungus on a tree that's already under strain. Hold a cast needle up to a hand lens and you'll see rows of tiny black fruiting bodies where healthy needles carry neat white waxy dots. Open the canopy by spacing and clearing competing growth, water at the base, and cut out the worst branches; drought and root stress make the whole thing worse.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation by spacing and removing competing vegetation
- Avoid overhead irrigation and wetting foliage
- Remove and destroy heavily infected branches
- Maintain consistent soil moisture and mulch
Stippled, bronzing needles with fine webbing in spring and fall
Needles that look stippled and bronzed, threaded with fine webbing, point to the spruce spider mite feeding in the cool weather of spring and fall. Tap a branch over a sheet of white paper and watch for tiny crawling specks to confirm it. Knock the mites off with a strong jet of water, reach for horticultural oil only when numbers stay high, and skip broad-spectrum sprays that wipe out the predators keeping mites in check.
Fix:
- Spray foliage with a strong jet of water to dislodge mites
- Apply horticultural oil or an approved miticide when populations are high
- Avoid broad-spectrum insecticides that kill mite predators
Toxicity
Good news for households with pets and children: Norway spruce is not toxic. The only real hazard is mechanical, since the needles are stiff and sharp enough to prick skin, and a mouthful of swallowed needles might cause a passing stomach upset. Nothing about the tree will poison a cat, dog, or curious child.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
No poison here. A cat that bats at or nibbles the needles might drool or paw at its mouth from the sharp tips, but nothing toxic is at work.
Dogs None
Safe to be around. The stiff needles can scratch a curious nose, and swallowing a mouthful may bring a brief stomach upset, yet the tree carries no real poison.
Horses Safe
Norway spruce is not a toxic browse. Horses generally leave the prickly foliage alone, and a stray taste does no harm.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can share a garden with this tree without risk; the needles hold nothing poisonous to them.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep face no poisoning from the foliage. Unlike some conifers tied to herd trouble, spruce stays off the danger list.
Birds Safe
The tree is a friend to birds, offering cover and seed. Nothing about it is toxic to them.
People Safe
No poison concern for people. The sharp needles can prick bare skin, so handle fresh branches with care, but the tree is not toxic.
Needles are stiff and prickly and can poke skin; ingested needles may cause mild mouth or stomach irritation or, in quantity, GI obstruction, so discourage chewing.
Varieties
Beyond the towering species tree, Norway spruce has given rise to a run of distinct cultivars, from weeping giants to tidy dwarfs. These are the ones worth knowing by name.
'Pendula'
A strongly weeping form whose branches spill straight down, trained upright on a stake for a dramatic accent or left to sprawl as a ground cover.
'Nidiformis'
The bird's nest spruce is a slow dwarf that stays only a few feet tall, with a flat top dipping into a nest-like hollow at its center.
'Acrocona'
This small, irregular, often semi-weeping tree puts on a show of bright red-pink young cones at its branch tips.
'Cupressina'
A narrow column with branches swept upward, it shrugs off snow load and fits a tall screen into a tight space.
How to propagate
How you multiply a Norway spruce depends on what you're after: the wild species comes true from seed, while the prized weeping and dwarf forms have to be cloned.
SeedModerate
Sow stratified seed in spring · 2 to 4 years to a transplantable seedling
Start from seed if you want the true species rather than a named cultivar, which won't come true this way. Give the seed about a month of cold, moist stratification before sowing in spring, then be patient, since it takes 2 to 4 years to grow a seedling big enough to transplant.
GraftingDemanding
Late winter under cover · 1 to 2 years
Grafting is how the dwarf and weeping cultivars like 'Pendula' and 'Nidiformis' stay true to type, joined onto seedling rootstock in late winter under cover. It's demanding work, but a graft knits and grows on within 1 to 2 years.
LayeringModerate
Spring · 1 to 2 years to root
Prostrate and weeping forms layer themselves when low branches rest on the soil and root where they touch. Peg one down in spring and it will root over 1 to 2 years, ready to be cut free and moved once established.
Myths
Norway spruce and Colorado blue spruce are basically interchangeable.
The two trade places far less easily than they look. Norway spruce grows faster, takes heat and varied sites in stride, and shrugs off Rhizosphaera needlecast and Cytospora canker far better than blue spruce. For a tougher, longer-lived landscape tree, Norway spruce is the safer bet.
Spruce Christmas trees are poisonous to cats and dogs.
Spruce is not a true toxin. Chewed needles are at most mildly or mechanically irritating to the mouth and stomach, and the real worries are a passing stomach upset or, in quantity, a blockage. The danger is the sharp, indigestible needles, not poison.