{"slug":"picea-glauca","scientific_name":"Picea glauca","common_names":["White spruce","Canadian spruce","Black Hills spruce"],"family":"Pinaceae","type":"conifer","mature_height_m":15,"mature_spread_m":5,"growth_rate":"slow","lifespan_years":250,"hardiness_zones":[2,6],"sun":"full_partial","water":"medium","soil":"Well-drained soil of almost any texture, acid to alkaline; good drainage is essential","native_range":"Boreal North America from Alaska across every Canadian province and territory to Newfoundland, dipping into the northern United States from Montana to Maine with an outlying Black Hills population.","description":"A dense, narrow, symmetrical spruce with stiff pale to blue-green needles that smell skunky when crushed and slender hanging cones. It is among the hardiest and most wind-, cold- and drought-tolerant conifers, the backbone of prairie shelterbelts and the provincial tree of Manitoba. Black Hills spruce (var. densata) and dwarf Alberta spruce 'Conica' are compact forms for smaller lots.","care":"Plant in full sun with good drainage and mulch its shallow roots; water through establishment and in prolonged drought. It needs little pruning. Spruce spider mite, spruce budworm, yellow-headed sawfly, gall adelgids and needle cast are the usual problems; it struggles in hot, humid climates.","benefits":["windbreak","wildlife","birds","drought_tolerant","storm_resistant","long_lived","small_space"],"uses":["windbreak","screening","parks","yard_shade","timber"],"cautions":["surface_roots","pest_prone"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Picea_glauca_Fairbanks.jpg","image_credit":"dmcdevit, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons","sources":["https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/picea-glauca/","https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/white-spruce/","https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picea_glauca"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/picea-glauca","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/picea-glauca.md","regions":[{"country":"CA","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Native in every Canadian province and territory; provincial tree of Manitoba.","source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"AK","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"ME","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"MI","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"MN","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"MT","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"ND","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"NH","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"NY","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"SD","locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Isolated Black Hills population (Black Hills spruce); state tree of South Dakota.","source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"VT","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"WI","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"US","region":"WY","locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Black Hills population.","source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PIGL"},{"country":"CA","region":"AB","locality":"Calgary","status":"recommended","note":"On the City of Calgary Top Tree Species for Calgary list","source_url":"https://www.calgary.ca/parks/trees/top-species-for-calgary.html"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}