General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Tree
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Wet
Wet Mesic
Mesic
Dry Mesic
Dry
Soil pH Preferences: Strongly acid (5.1 – 5.5)
Moderately acid (5.6 – 6.0)
Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5)
Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Plant Height: 200 feet (70 m)
Leaves: Evergreen
Needled
Fruit: Showy
Edible to birds
Other: female cones with papery or thin woody scales
Fruiting Time: Late summer or early fall
Fall
Late fall or early winter
Winter
Flowers: Other: soft male cones
Flower Time: Spring
Uses: Windbreak or Hedge
Provides winter interest
Shade Tree
Useful for timber production
Edible Parts: Fruit
Resistances: Deer Resistant
Rabbit Resistant
Propagation: Seeds: Can handle transplanting
Other info: Seeds are inside cones
Pollinators: Wind
Miscellaneous: Tolerates poor soil
Monoecious

Image
Common names
  • Sitka Spruce
  • Spruce
  • Tideland Spruce
  • Silver Spruce
  • Western Spruce

Photo Gallery
Location: Oregon Coast
Date: 2011-05-26
Location: Lake Quinault Rain Forest, Washington
Date: 2013-08-23
Claim of largest Sitka spruce in the world, 58'11" circumference,
Location: Oregon Coast
Date: 2011-05-22
Location: Cedarhome, Washington
Date: 2013-05-23
Location: Cedarhome, Washington
Date: 2013-05-23
Location: Akureyri Botanical Gardens
credit: Hedwig Storch

credit: mpl
Comments:
  • Posted by Bonehead (Planet Earth - Zone 8b) on Dec 2, 2016 9:05 PM concerning plant:
    Native in the Pacific NW, west of the Cascade Range from Alaska to California. Found at the edges of swamps and wetlands and in moist valleys. Very prickly stiff needles, which purportedly have special powers for protection against evil thoughts. I find my native spruce trees look somewhat like cheerleaders - the upper branches reach to the sky before they get heavy enough to drape down. Makes it easy to pick them out when looking down at a stand of trees. The wood is an excellent conductor of sound, and is often used in the manufacture of pianos, harps, and stringed instruments. The tips of new branches are used to flavor spruce beer and boiled down to syrup.
  • Posted by robertduval14 (Milford, New Hampshire - Zone 5b) on Apr 17, 2013 4:59 PM concerning plant:
    Alaska's state tree.
Discussion Threads about this plant
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
Sitka Spruce by wcgypsy Jun 22, 2012 5:17 PM 0

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