Columnar Norway Spruce

If you live in colder parts of the country you will already know how valuable evergreens are, for their persistent foliage during the long winter months, when other trees are bare. Many evergreens grow wide, or the lower branches die, leaving the ground bare, but the Columnar Norway Spruce does not. This beautiful tree, with a rich blue sheen to its leaves, forms an upright column of foliage right to the ground, growing tall, but never wide. It is an ideal choice to make a windbreak for an exposed garden, to screen you from unwelcome gazes, as an accent plant, or a lovely lawn specimen in a smaller garden.

The Columnar Norway Spruce is also a fast-growing tree, so you will not be waiting decades to see a lovely mature specimen in your garden. It grows almost a foot a year, so it will soon grow a screen or windbreak for you, or become a beautiful specimen.

With its upright branches it will shed snow, and never fall apart in a heavy snow-fall, as other trees can do. Best of all, it is hardy to a chilly minus 40 degrees, so it will grow throughout all the coldest states. This beautiful tree will also grow in much warmer areas too, although it is not suitable for drier areas, where there are lots of other great evergreen choices, such as the Arizona Cypress, or Italian Cypress, which are very drought resistant.

Growing Columnar Norway Spruce Trees

The Columnar Norway Spruce grows quickly into a tree 20 feet tall, and eventually 30 feet tall – yet it stays narrow, only 6 feet wide, and eventually to 10 feet wide. This means it doesn’t take up a lot of space, but gives you lots of height. This makes it ideal for a windbreak, bringing shelter to the most exposed garden, or for a narrow screen to obscure upper-story windows. Planted in a row you will soon have a beautiful dense screen for privacy.

Appearance

In spring the new foliage is a beautiful bright green color, which turns a rich, deep blue-green as it matures – the perfect neutral backdrop for all your other plants. The branches will persist right to the ground for decades, so your screen will always stay dense and full. Older trees that are unclipped will begin to produce large cones – up to 9 inches long, which will fall and make great winter decorations for your home.

Planting and Initial Care

When planting your Columnar Norway Spruce, choose a sunny spot. For a screen or windbreak, place the trees 4 to 5 feet apart. You will not need to trim them to maintain a dense, narrow form, that is their natural habit, but you can trim in early summer if desired, or to keep an even narrower screen. Water your trees well regularly during the first season and after that during dry spells. This tree will grow in most kinds of soil, including clay, but it does not like very chalky soils or very sandy, dry soils.

History and Origins of the Columnar Norway Spruce

The original Norway Spruce (Picea abies) is a native tree in Scandinavia and north-west Russia, but it is also found in some other mountainous areas across Europe. It grows over 100 feet tall, but stays narrow, and is often used as a timber tree. It is a long-lived tree, with some trees almost 500 years old. The variety ‘Cupressina’ was discovered growing naturally in the Thuringian Forest of Germany some time before 1904, when it is first recorded. What makes it special is the dense, upright form and blue-green mature leaves – both features that make this a great garden tree.

Buying Columnar Norway Spruces at The Tree Center

Because this is a special, selected form of the wild tree, it cannot be grown from seed. Instead pieces are taken and joined to the roots of seedling Norway Spruce trees and carefully grown. This takes time and skill, but this tree is so superior you certainly wouldn’t want to settle for cheaper seedlings that will not have this trees great properties.

This is an amazing tree and we have a good stock, as we know that demand for this tree will be high – especially from our customers in colder states. There are many kinds of Norway Spruce trees, but this is perhaps the best one that exists for a narrow, upright specimen or screen. So order now and avoid being disappointed.