# White spruce (Picea glauca)

> 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.

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

## Facts

- Also called: Canadian spruce, Black Hills spruce
- Family: Pinaceae
- Type: Conifer
- Mature height: 15 m; spread 5 m
- Growth: Slow growing; lives about 250 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 2 to 6
- Light: Sun or part shade
- Water: Moderate water
- 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.

**Benefits:** Windbreak, Wildlife, Birds, Drought tolerant, Storm resistant, Long lived, Fits small spaces

**Good for:** Windbreak, Screening, parks, Yard shade, Timber

**Watch out for:** Surface roots, Pest prone

## 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.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Canada (Native in every Canadian province and territory; provincial tree of Manitoba.); AK, United States; ME, United States; MI, United States; MN, United States; MT, United States; ND, United States; NH, United States; NY, United States; SD, United States (Isolated Black Hills population (Black Hills spruce); state tree of South Dakota.); VT, United States; WI, United States; WY, United States (Black Hills population.)
- **Recommended:** Calgary, AB, Canada (On the City of Calgary Top Tree Species for Calgary list)

## 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