The fastest-growing of all spruces, the norway spruce (Picea abies) makes for a good roosting spot for owls and hawks. Its wood is used for paper, construction lumber, and musical instruments, and its needles can be used to brew spruce beer. It is also a popular choice for Christmas trees.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Picea abies, the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.
It is very closely related to the Siberian spruce (Picea obovata), which replaces it east of the Ural Mountains, and with which it hybridizes freely. The Norway spruce has a wide distribution for it being planted for its wood, and is the species used as the main Christmas tree in several countries around the world. It was the first gymnosperm to have its genome sequenced. The Latin specific epithet abies means “like Abies, Fir tree”.
Norway spruce is a large, fast-growing evergreen coniferous tree growing 35–55 m (115–180 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of 1 to 1.5 m. It can grow fast when young, up to 1 m per year for the first 25 years under good conditions, but becomes slower once over 20 m (65 ft) tall. The shoots are orange-brown and glabrous. The leaves are needle-like with blunt tips, 12–14 mm long, quadrangular in cross-section, and dark green on all four sides with inconspicuous stomatal lines.
The seed cones are 9–17 cm long (the longest of any spruce), and have bluntly to sharply triangular-pointed scale tips. They are green or reddish, maturing brown 5–7 months after pollination. The seeds are black, 4–5 mm long, with a pale brown 15 mm wing. The tallest measured Norway spruce is 62.26 m (204 ft) tall and grows near Ribnica na Pohorju, Slovenia.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
Norway spruce is shade-tolerant, so it doesn’t need much direct sunlight to grow. From spring through early summer, it’s best to expose the tree to light for a duration of over 6 hours a day, but a lack of light for a short time won’t affect its growth. In summer, when sunlight is harsh, it’s best to shade small trees grown outdoors to protect them from long-term, blazing light. If they are potted indoors, move them to a cool, shaded place.
Temperature
Norway spruce likes cool and moist climates. The ideal temperature range for tree growth is 4 to 18 ℃. It’s hardy and tolerant of temperatures as low as -30 ℃, but young trees and tender branches are less cold-resistant.
Norway spruce likes moisture, it has good adaptability and is slightly drought-enduring. During the spring and summer growing seasons, the tree prefers higher air humidity (70-80%), while in the fall and winter, lower air humidity (55-65%) can help it grow more sturdy.
Watering
After transplanting norway spruce, water consecutively 5-7 times, once every 5-7 days. Mix a little rooting powder in the water; this will help the roots grow. During daily care, keep the soil moist but avoid leaving standing water, as this may cause the roots to rot. In general, water once every 10 days. If the leaves soften and droop, increase the watering frequency. The amount of watering can be adjusted depending on the weather conditions.
Soil
Norway spruce grows well in fertile, deep, well-drained, slightly acidic soils. The best soil pH range is 5.1-7.3, making both sandy soil or slightly clay-like soil good choices. As the tree grows slowly and has a long life span, the soil layer should be about 70 cm thick. If barren, the soil can be improved by adding nutrient soil or organic manure.
Fertilizing
Applying enough base fertilizers before transplanting can provide nutrients to norway spruce over a long period of growth. In the first year after transplanting, the nutrition-absorption ability of the tree’s roots is not very strong, so apply nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer every 2 weeks. In the fall, apply a little potassium fertilizer to help the trunk grow thick and sturdy. After the plant matures, it’s best to fertilize it in spring and summer and only fertilize 2-4 times a year. In late fall, norway spruce slowly enters dormancy, so fertilizing should be reduced and stopped by the end of fall.
Organic fertilizer is the best choice for this slow-growing tree variety. It contains a full set of nutrients that can be utilized continually and reliably. It can also help optimize the soil texture and benefits the plants’ growth. If the soil turns dry after fertilizing, water promptly.
Planting Instructions
To grow norway spruce in a yard, purchase seedlings and transplant them in early spring. Get the planting pit ready one week before transplanting; its diameter needs to be about 20 cm longer than that of the root ball and have a depth of about 15 cm deeper. It should be no less than 6 m away from other plants. Add organic fertilizers to the bottom of the planting pit before transplanting and mix them well with the soil.
Place the seedling vertically into the pit, shovel 2/3 of the soil back, and water thoroughly once to make sure the moisture around the plant’s roots is sufficient. Then, fill the pit fully up with soil and water again. Stomp the soil firmly and keep the pit surface level with the ground. If it’s often windy at the planting site, support the young tree with wood sticks or metal poles in case a strong gale threatens to tilt it or knock it down.
Indoor potted norway spruce can be directly purchased. The tree grows slowly and usually doesn’t require repotting. Repotting is only necessary if the needles turn yellow and fall off the tree, the roots around the pot brim or at the bottom wither and dry up, or the soil in the pot compacts. Move the majority of the original soil to the new pot with the plant, and add small amounts of organic fertilizers and new soil to provide more nutrients for its growth.
Pruning
A growing Red spruce makes a pretty picture, especially if it is planted as a single tree and therefore does not require any pruning. Should it become necessary or desired to prune the tree, i.e. to remove branches from the lower third of the trunk, it is best to do this in late winter. Picea abies does not tolerate cuttings in old wood. So, be careful while pruning. Shaping should start from the time the tree is young and should be done only on shoots with needles, as the tree will only continue to grow on them. Never cut off the main shoot, as that would disfigure the tree permanently.
Propagation
Taking a cutting from a young and pliable branch is the best way to propagate Norway spruce. Here’s how:
- Cut a vigorous stem at about 6 inches, taking care to cut below a node at a 45-degree angle.
- Strip the needles away from the bottom 1 inch of the cutting
- Immediately place the cutting in sandy soil.
- Grow it as you would an established sapling, with warm temperatures, indirect light, and regular watering.
How to Grow Norway Spruce From Seed
When the cones drop their seeds, collect them from the ground and place them in a small container. Put that container in the refrigerator for at least three weeks. When you remove the seeds from the refrigerator, soak them in water for 24 hours; discard any seeds that float. The remaining seeds can be planted in containers filled with moist but not soggy soil.
The seeds should germinate after three weeks or so. Keep the new saplings in their containers for at least one season to allow the root system to grow.
Overwintering
Norway spruce can handle extremely cold temperatures, so mature trees have no particular overwintering needs. Immature trees can use a thick layer of mulch at the base to help keep the roots a bit insulated.
Pests and Diseases
The main pest on spruce is the Sitka spruce louse – unfortunately it also attacks the red spruce. This red-eyed aphid is active in summer and winter and causes needles of infected trees to fall. To fight these pests, sprays based on rapeseed oil are suitable. The bark beetle, which prefers to attack dry and weakened trees, is a strong threat, especially for large tree populations. Fungal diseases such as spruce needle redness, needle rust or browning of needles, root dry rot and core rot also predominantly occur in denser populations. If the red spruce starts to needle for no reason, there could be a magnesium deficiency in the soil, which can be remedied by administering Epsom salt.
III. Uses and Benefits
- Ornamental uses
The Norway spruce is one of the most widely planted spruces, both in and outside of its native range, and one of the most economically important coniferous species in Europe. It is used as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens. It is also widely planted for use as a Christmas tree.
- Medical uses
The tree is the source of spruce beer, which was once used to prevent and even cure scurvy.
Norway spruce shoot tips have been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally (as syrup or tea) and externally (as baths, for inhalation, as ointments, as resin application or as tea) for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, skin, locomotor system, gastrointestinal tract and infections.
During the production of Mont d’Or cheese it is wrapped in a “sangle” made from the cambium of a Norway spruce (French: Épicéa commun) for about two weeks at least, which gives the cheese a unique flavour.
- Other uses
The Norway spruce is used in forestry for (softwood) timber, and paper production.
The Norwegian company Borregaard produces the synthetic substitute for natural vanilla Vanillin using the Norwegian spruce. They are currently the only company to produce wood based vanillin and is claimed by the company to be preferred by their customers due to, among other reasons, its much lower carbon footprint than petrochemically synthesized vanillin.
It is esteemed as a source of tonewood by stringed-instrument makers. One form of the tree called Haselfichte (Hazel-spruce) grows in the European Alps and has been recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. This form was used by Stradivarius for instruments.
