Spruce, Norway, Bare Root

Norway Spruce (Picea abies)

The Norway Spruce is a fast-growing, cold-hardy evergreen tree widely planted across North America for windbreaks, reforestation, privacy screens, and timber. Though native to Europe, it has naturalized in many temperate regions and is valued for its adaptability, dense form, and usefulness in silvopasture systems and restoration projects. With its classic pyramidal shape and drooping branch tips, Norway Spruce offers year-round structure in the landscape and serves as important wildlife cover and winter shelter.

Key Characteristics

• Excellent windbreak and privacy screen
  Norway Spruce grows rapidly—up to 3 feet per year in ideal conditions—and develops a dense form that blocks wind, snow, and noise. It’s often used in farmstead shelterbelts, along property lines, and in pasture-edge plantings to create microclimates and reduce wind stress on crops, animals, and structures.
• Valuable wildlife shelter, especially in winter
  Its thick, evergreen branches provide critical cover for birds (such as chickadees, nuthatches, and owls) and small mammals during cold months when deciduous plants offer little protection. This makes it especially valuable for winter wildlife habitat and overwintering insect refuge.
• Useful in silvopasture and timber systems
  Norway Spruce is compatible with silvopasture rotations, particularly in colder zones. It provides shade, wind protection, and eventually valuable timber, while its shallow root system allows for undergrowth or forage crops to be grown once mature. It also integrates well into diverse hedgerows and agroforestry systems when mixed with native species.
• Tolerant of various soils and urban conditions
  Though it prefers cool, moist, well-drained soils, Norway Spruce is surprisingly adaptable to clay, sandy, and rocky soils. It tolerates air pollution and compacted urban soils, making it a useful choice for urban reforestation, roadside plantings, and tough sites where native conifers may struggle.
• Cultural and ornamental value
  A familiar sight in European cultural landscapes, Norway Spruce is the traditional species used for Christmas trees in many parts of the world. Its elegant, symmetrical form and classic evergreen look make it a strong structural plant in formal or informal plantings, especially where native alternatives are not feasible.

Product Details

• Native range: Europe (non-native in North America)
• Plant life cycle: Evergreen tree
• Sun requirements: Full sun
• Soil requirements: Medium-dry to medium-wet; well-drained preferred
• Mature height: 50–100 feet
• Bloom time: Late spring (inconspicuous)
• Bloom color: Reddish-purple (male cones), green (female cones)
• USDA Hardiness zones: 2–7

Norway Spruce offers fast, reliable growth and dense evergreen structure that supports wildlife, stabilizes landscapes, and contributes to productive agroforestry systems. It’s a practical, multipurpose tree for northern climates.