Weeping Norway Spruce. Conifer, evergreen tree, 40-60 ft (12-18 m) tall, pyramidal with drooping secondary branches, stiff when young more, graceful later. For Christmas trees, overall color of Norway spruce is good to excellent. Copyright Leaf Group Ltd. // Leaf Group Lifestyle. The Nordmann Fir is the most common and can - with the right care - hold onto its needles right up to Christmas Day. The trees usually grow 50-80 feet tall and two feet in diameter, and often have branches almost all the way to the ground. Jacob J. Wright became a full-time writer in 2008, with articles appearing on various websites. It has been used extensively as a landscape tree in eastern Nebraska where it’s distinguished by its large size and its pendulous, droopy branches. Shape it using heading cuts: Hold pruners at a slight angle about inch above a bud that faces the direction in which you want to encourage the new growth. This stops branches drooping under the weight of heavy items and needle drop. Norway spruce trees need full sun, which is 6 hours or more of direct sunlight. The Norway Spruce is a true northwoods giant that can reach heights of 90 feet or more. Another very common spruce is the Norway spruce, or Picea abies. The tall shape and graceful, drooping branches of Norway spruce (Picea abies) may make pruning more challenging since you don't want to destroy the natural form and beauty of the tree. on the trunk or branches or anything. Never "top" a Norway spruce. This conifer has the same conical shape as the White Spruce, but exhibits its signature drooping branches as it matures. I have a large timberland, with 20 or more acres of Norway spruce. Strong, graceful branches are covered with attractive dark green needles. You want your tree to be a shiny, glossy green. The Norway Spruce is the more traditional Christmas tree with a pyramid shape, dark green foliage and rich festive scent. The tall shape and graceful, drooping branches of Norway spruce (Picea abies) may make pruning more challenging since you don't want to destroy the natural form and beauty of the tree. Siberian spruce is known to be its subspecies but scientists are researching about it as the two trees are extremely similar. A very popular and durable spire-shaped evergreen, excellent for articulation; interesting droopy branches when mature, rich deep green needles; tough and hardy, good for windbreaks, will grow quite large under the right conditions. Needles are 4-sided, 1/2-1 inch long, and sharp or somewhat blunt at the tip. Remove any competing leaders from the tree tip, making the pruning cut 1/4-inch above their attachment to the main leader/trunk. The number of the tree’s synonym crosses 150. The needles are a very dark shade of green, possessing four sides and being from a half inch to an inch in length. Needles are 4-sided (rectangular in section), ½ … Even after the trunk has been cut, the tree will still absorb liquid. Out of all those trees and all those attacks, I probably have about 40 that developed forks too high for me to prune out. Even larger branches or those needing removal flush with the tree trunk are best removed with a hand-held pruning saw. Use an arborist with safety equipment to tackle pruning projects and concerns high in the tree. If your tree is placed near a fire or heater move it to a cooler area. The Norway Spruce is the more traditional Christmas tree with a pyramid shape, dark green foliage and rich festive scent. New prune spruce branches back into nude areas where no needles grow. Botanical Name: Picea breweriana. Fastest growing of the spruces. https://www.gardenguides.com/116109-prune-norway-spruce.html This fast growing evergreen is dark green with short, shiny, stiff needles. Bloom time: Because it’s an evergreen, a Norway spruce doesn’t have a set bloom time, and it does not drop its needles. In Europe, Norway spruce grows from 130 to 215 feet in height, but in the United States is seldom more than 130 feet tall. It's a 75 foot Norway Spruce with some noticeably crooked branches. A great evergreen tree for use in landscapes, and as windbreaks. It's better to err on the side of under-pruning a Norway spruce than over-pruning and creating unnatural looking pruning wounds. Habitat: Forests, Fields and Open Areas; Open areas, where planted. It is readily identified by its dark green needles and drooping branchlets. Size: #7c. Height: 65-125 feet. Make pruning cuts 1/4-inch above lower branch junctions if you are trimming back branch tips. Artificial trees may have increased in popularity, but for the purist, only a real tree will do. Norway Spruce Trees. Norway Spruce is far more common in cultivation, where it used as a landscape tree, a windbreak tree, and a plantation tree (for Christmas trees and other commercial markets). Wright holds a graduate diploma in environmental horticulture from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a Master of Science in public horticulture from the University of Delaware. In cold climates, the Norway spruce provides lush green color when not much else is growing. Distinctive features: Tree; Drooping branches. It is not a tree for smaller yards. Once removed, the tree with form a structurally weak, multi-branched replacement top that will not look good. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Non-native spruce, widely introduced; cones large, 4-7 inches long; needles arising from tiny pegs; branches often drooping. However, at maturity it may thin and be open, which some consider "unsightly". This is in SE Michigan and I haven't used fertilizer on any of the 6 Norway Spruce. Eastern hemlock and Norway spruce are easy to distinguish up-close, but are sometimes confused from a distance because both have dark green needles and drooping branches and foliage; both are widely used in landscaping, and are highly shade-tolerant. Best planted in full sun. While dead branches warrant removal at any time, trimming back growing branches in increments allows you to create the desired tree shape without accidentally removing too much. Branches develop a pendulous habit as the tree matures. The bark on the older Norway spruces is a reddis… But cultivars for the garden abound; this may be the most prolific spruce there is! What’s more, the carbon dioxide in lemonade — which gives it fizz — is acidic and can help reduce the fungal and bacterial growth in the water that leads to unpleasant, stale smells. Trees have dark green crown with a triangular shape. Avoid shearing the branches all at the same height; retain the natural, jagged, pendent look of the Norway spruce's branch structure. This species of evergreen can be used as a groundcover plant or trained to grow upright. The trunk diameter can be around 3 feet on large specimens. As moisture evaporates from the needles, the tree will draw more water though its trunk. Weeds compete for water and nutrients, which can stunt the growth of the tree or destroy it. Grown on a stake to feature the pendulous nature of the branches. The Norway Spruce is a true northwoods giant that can reach heights of 90+ feet. In nature, these trees are very large, with very dark green needles on gracefully weeping branches. Faunal Associations: A number of insects feed on the foliage, bore through bark, or suck plant juices from Norway Spruce and other spruce trees (Picea spp. Consider cutting back barren branches to a lower branch junction or the tree trunk rather than leaving an awkward leggy branch. Old Tjikko, a clone of Norway spruce is believed to be 9, 550 years old, being the oldest living tree in the world. The Fraser Fir is a narrower tree suitable for a smaller space, with a blue green colour and dense foliage. For safety reasons, don't place your tree near candles or open flame. Saw an inch of wood off of the bottom of the trunk. Books: Trees in Canada: 108 Native/Non-native: Non-native Status: Common where planted. Only one growing tip or vertical twig, called the leader, should exist. Diameter may reach as much as two feet on older trees. Earmark these branches for trimming. New tip buds will only rejuvenate from pruning cuts made on areas of branches that are cloaked in needles. When buying your tree, take it by the trunk and tap it on the ground Evergreens lose needles year round, but if too many fall off you should pick another. Also not if any particularly long or errant branches or twigs pose a nuisance over a sidewalk or driveway. There were plenty of comparisons to the sparse, drooping tree from A Charlie Brown … Look at the very top of the spruce tree. Branches droop gracefully as the tree matures. by Michael Kuo Habitat: Introduced European species planted in urban settings, in parks, as wind breaks on farms, and in pure plantations after logging operations. The glucose in sugar will help the tree to maintain its cell structure and prevent needle loss, even several weeks after being cut. Look for balance among the size, length and distribution of the remaining branches. Norway spruce's deep green needles point forward and their weight causes the branches to droop as the trees age. ). Slow-growing to 3 feet tall, taller if staked, with trailing branches to 10 feet wide. When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Because of its potential size, Norway spruce is often used as a windbreak, screen or large hedge in large-scale landscapes. This conifer has the same conical shape as the White Spruce, but exhibits the signature drooping branches of Norway Spruce as it matures. You can always trim later again in late winter. If you can't, give the tree an all-around treatment. In it native land, the Norway spruce has the ability to grow well over 200 feet high, but in North America the tree rarely will exceed 130 feet, which still makes it an impressive sight. The Norway Spruce is sometimes known as the traditional Christmas Tree. Plan the perfect garden with our interactive tool →, tree in a winter storm image by sonya etchison from, University of Rhode Island: Pruning Evergreens, University of Idaho: How To Prune Coniferous Evergreen Trees. But it's those purists that have a battle on their hands in trying to keep their tree going until Twelfth Night. "Topping" is the harsh, blunt removal of the upper leader or general upper tip of the tree. Learn which plants thrive in your Hardiness Zone with our new interactive map! 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