Norway Spruce

Norway spruce is the large, pyramidal conifer with the distinctive weeping branchlets that hang from horizontal main branches like dark green curtains. The overall form is broad-based and formal, and mature trees develop a gravitas that few other conifers match. The pendulous cones, the largest of any spruce, six to seven inches long, hang from the upper branches in fall. Native to northern and central Europe, where it dominates mountain forests, Norway spruce has been planted extensively across North America as a windbreak, screen, and specimen tree. It grows sixty to eighty feet.

In Western Washington, Norway spruce performs well in full sun with moist, well-drained soil. It tolerates clay and adapts to the range of conditions found in residential and park settings. The growth rate is moderately fast. Several diseases and pests are tracked, including spruce needle cast and spider mites. The practical consideration is scale: this is a large tree that needs space. Dwarf cultivars like 'Nidiformis' (bird's nest spruce) provide the species character in a fraction of the space. For a stately, full-sized conifer with a European heritage and year-round presence, Norway spruce is a classical choice.