Woody > Picea > Picea orientalis > Picea orientalis
Picea orientalis
Oriental Spruce
Origin: Introduced into cultivation in 1827.
Mike's
Opinion
"
A very elegant, stately tree. The Norway spruce is much more common, partly due to its cold hardiness and greater availability, but the Oriental Spruce is a much nicer specimen, due to is graceful habit and rich colour. This is a class tree!
Michael Pascoe, NDP., ODH., CLT., MSc. (Plant Conservation)
"
| Family |
| Pinaceae |
| Genus |
| Picea |
| Species |
| orientalis |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Tree (evergreen) |
| Pronunciation |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 4 |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 2a |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H7 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| -34 - (-29) |
| Temperature (°F) |
| -30 - (-20) |
| Height |
| 20 - 35 m |
| Spread |
| 4 - 6 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Awards
Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| Very dense tree, slightly pendulous branching, elegant form. Often used as a specimen tree. Tolerates many soils conditions, such as thin, gravely soils and to an extent drought. |
| Landscape |
| This is an excellent specimen tree, but it can also be used as a screen. It needs some protection from cold winter winds to prevent browning. |
| Cultivation |
| Can be grown in a variety of soils, even very rocky soil. This tree needs shelter from cold winter winds to prevent browning and requires full sun to part shade. |
| Shape |
| Broadly columnar when mature, slightly pyramidal when young. |
| Growth |
| Slow |
| ID Characteristic |
| Has the shortest needles of all spruces, less than 1 cm in length. Needles are dark green, sometimes almost black, and are four sided. Male cones are red and strawberry-like. Female cones are deep purple when young, turning brown with age. |
| Pests |
| Relatively pest and disease free, although common spruce problems such as mites, aphids, bagworms and spruce gall may pose a minor problem. |
| Habitat |
| Native to Asia Minor, grows in a variety of conditions, such as poor gravely soils. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Brown, exfoliating, becoming cracked with age, forming thin, small plates. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| One of the last spruces to bud in the spring, buds are dark red or purple, turning brown as they mature. |
| Leaf Description |
| Glossy, dark green. Four sided needles with 1-4 stomatic lines on each side. Needles hold colour well during the winter if protected from winds. Needles are short, about 1cm in length. |
| Flower Description |
| Monoecious, red, strawberry-like males. Flowers are fairly inconspicuous and don’t have much ornamental value. Female flowers emerge purple, turning brown. |
| Fruit Description |
| Small red, strawberry-like cones on males, purple cones on females when young, turning brown. Cones are 5-10 cm long, and not ornamentally significant on large, mature trees. |
| Colour Description |
| Needles are glossy, dark green, male cones are red, female cones are purple, turning brown. Bark is cracked, scaly, brown when mature, pinkish-grey when young. |
| Texture Description |
| Medium. Foliage is very refined; this tree stands out in the landscape compared to other large evergreens. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens, Niagara Falls, Ontario. Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England. |
| Propagation |
| Propagation by seed needs no pre-treatment. Seeds should be collected in autumn. |
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