Extremely hardy and wind-resistant. Tolerates heat and humidity better than most spruces. Grows best in the Upper South.

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The goldfinches have been very busy devouring the seeds from this tree this winter. It is a habitat and shelter for all kinds of birds, and the cardinals and others may be feasting on the seeds as well.

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The Norway Spruce is native to northern and central Europe. In landscapes it usually gets about 40 to 60 feet high and 20 to 30 feet wide, but gets over 120 feet in its native land. Its habit is pyramidal with upturning branching and long, pendulous branchlets that hang way down. Its needles are shiny dark green, about 1 inch long, and they are prickly but not real bad. It bears lots of large, tan, cylindrical cones about 4 to 6 inches long and 1.5 to 2 inches wide. It is fast growing of about 2 feet/year. It is almost as extremely commonly planted in the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, the Northeast, and upper South in the US as the Colorado Spruce. It is a reliable coniferous tree in landscapes, even where the soil is heavier by having a good amount of clay, even compacted clay, and even having a slightly alkaline reaction. It does drop a good amount of twigs and many cones. The only problem that I see happening in the Upper Midwest is that the tops of the trees can become thin because of lower humidity. I don't recommend growing Norway Spruce in the boreal forest regions of North America with sandy, acid soils, (where conifers really thrive the best), because this species can escape cultivation by seeding itself around; grow native spruces and conifers where they do so well.

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