The Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) is a cone-bearing evergreen plant fir tree diagram native to the mountainous regions of Europe and Asia . The species was first describe by Linnaeus in 1753 asPinus genus Abies , but it was later correctly namedPicea abiesby H. Karsten in 1881 . Norway spruce was first planted in the UK for forestry purposes in the 1800s , realise popularity as a Christmas tree after being introduced by Prince Albert .
Norway spruce grow to an average height of 100 to 200 feet with a spread of just about 40 feet , though tall specimens have been found in Europe . Its bole , or trunk , is normally consecutive and does not divide into a crotch . Young tree have fine shred bark , while the bark on mature Tree is heavier , scaly and sheds well . Norway spruce ’s mystifying green needle steer forward and their weightiness cause the branches to droop as the tree geezerhood . Cones are brown and narrow and measure from 4 to 6 inches . The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ’s shallow roots grow far from the tree and often over stone and other obstacle .
Growth of the Norway spruce is obtuse at first as the tree institute itself but speeds up as it approach middle age , or 20 to 60 years . The grim branches fall off as it spring up , and its canopy , or top , also slim out and pin down into a less conelike form . While trees in their native mountain range of Europe and Asia often live upwards of 300 years , worsening of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in North America and Great Britain begins when they are about 200 year old .
Characteristics
Norway Spruce Distribution
The Norway Spruce ( Picea abies ) has a wide lifelike dispersion in Europe , stretch from Norway in the northwest to Poland in the eastern United States . Its eastern limit is usually move over as the Ural Mountains , although trees with some Siberian spruce role can be find as far Cicily Isabel Fairfield as northern Finland and northeast Norway . The Norway Spruce also grows in the mountains of primal Europe , southwestward to the westerly end of the Alps , and southeast in the Carpathians and Balkans to the uttermost north of Greece . It thrives in cool , temperate climates and is found in the arctic neighborhood , just north of 70 ° N in Norway .
In North America , the Norway Spruce has been wide planted in the northeastern , Pacific Coast , and Rocky Mountain states , as well as in southeasterly Canada . It has naturalise in some parts of North America , with populations fall out from Connecticut to Michigan , and likely elsewhere .
The Norway Spruce has been introduced to many region of the world for its woodwind and as a Christmas tree specie . It is the specie used as the main Christmas tree diagram in several state around the world . Every Christmas , the Norwegian cap metropolis , Oslo , provides Norway spruces to the cities of London ( the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree ) , Edinburgh , and Washington , D.C. , as a mansion of gratitude for the help these countries gave during the Second World War .
In the northerly US and Canada , Norway spruce is reported as invasive in some locations ; however , it does not pose a problem in Zone 6 and up as the cum have a significantly reduced germination rate in areas with raging , humid summers .
The Norway spruce tolerates acid dirt well , but does not do well on dry or wanting soils . From 1928 until the sixties it was planted on surface mine botch up in Indiana
Cultivation of a Norway Spruce
Reproduction
The Norway spruce , like other pine tree and firs , reproduces by mean value of seminal fluid that organise inside cone during the summertime and early fall . It is class as monoecious because both male and female reproductive parts are found on the same tree . Reproduction starts taking place when the trees are 30 to 40 years one-time , as farting - borne pollen from the male flowers fertilize distaff flowers that after acquire into cone , which sometimes leave out some of their source before fall from the tree . Norway spruce seminal fluid germinate readily and seedlings make grow quickly . New sprout never emerge from the stumps or root .
Spruce press cutting settle well in George Sand or a mixture of 1 part vermiculite and 1 part perlite . These cloth are well - draining and render the needed reinforcement for cutting to abide vertical . Plastic trays or flats are suitable for a large identification number of cuttings with their declamatory , heart-to-heart surfaces . Plastic 4 - inch can are best for rooting case-by-case cuttings . container must have drain muddle in the bottom to permit surplus water to escape , forestall the development of mold . Plant cuttings by simply force the bottom , needleless portion straight down into the sand . Plant multiple cutting 3 inches apart so they do not touch .
