# Norway spruce (Picea abies)

> The classic Christmas tree, a narrow conical conifer to 40 m with dark green needles and long hanging cones. It is the most important timber tree of continental Europe and was planted by the million in Britain and Ireland from the 1800s, though Sitka spruce has since replaced it in wet western uplands. Red squirrels, goldcrests and crossbills use it.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/picea-abies · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: European spruce
- Family: Pinaceae
- Type: Conifer
- Mature height: 40 m; spread 8 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 300 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 2 to 7
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Moderate water
- Soil: Moist, well-drained acidic soils; dislikes drought and hot dry sites
- Native range: Native to the mountains of central Europe (Alps, Carpathians, Balkans) and the boreal forests of Scandinavia, the Baltic states and Russia; widely planted elsewhere.

**Benefits:** Windbreak, Wildlife, Fast canopy, Stores carbon well

**Good for:** Timber, Windbreak, Screening, Reforestation

**Watch out for:** Pest prone, Heavy litter

## Care

Plant small trees in autumn on moist acidic ground; keep watered in dry springs because it resents drought. No pruning needed. The larger eight-toothed spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus), first found in Kent in 2018, is a quarantine pest: spruce in the demarcated area of south-east England is subject to movement restrictions under the Plant Health (Ips typographus) (England) Order 2019. Green spruce aphid browns needles.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Austria; Germany (Alps and central uplands); Finland; Norway; Poland; Romania (Carpathians); Sweden
- **Adapted:** United Kingdom (Introduced by 1548 and widely planted for forestry and Christmas trees; Ips typographus outbreaks in Kent and East Sussex); Ireland (Introduced per WCVP; planted for forestry)
- **Recommended:** Calgary, AB, Canada (On the City of Calgary Top Tree Species for Calgary list); Washington, DC, United States (On the Casey Trees Tree Rebate eligible species list)

## Sources

- https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/norway-spruce/
- https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/fthr/pest-and-disease-resources/larger-eight-toothed-european-spruce-bark-beetle-ips-typographus/
- https://www.gbif.org/species/5284884
- https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=284987
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/picea-abies/