Sitka Spruce, Picea sitchensis

About Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) 3 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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The Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50-70 meter tall, exceptionally to 100 meter tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 meter, exceptionally to 6-7 meter diameter. Native to the northwest coast of North America, primarily Humboldt and Del Norte Counties in California, it is by far the largest species of spruce, and the third tallest conifer species in the world (after Coast Redwood and Coast Douglas-fir). Also, the fourth largest conifer (behind Giant Sequia, Coast and Western Red Cedar). It acquires its name from the community of Sitka, Alaska. The bark is thin and scaly, flaking off in small circular plates 5-20 centimeter across. The crown is broad conic in young trees, becoming cylindric in older trees; old trees may have no branches in the lowest 30-40 meter. The shoots are very pale buff-brown, almost white, and smooth (hairless) but with prominent pulvini. The leaves are stiff, sharp and needle-like, 15-25 millimeter long, flattened in cross-section, dark waxy pale blue-green above with two or three thin lines of stomata, and blue-white below with two dense bands of stomata.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Tree

Size

40 - 229.7 ft tall

Form

Pyramidal, Upright

Growth Rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Evergreen

Flower Color

Yellow

Flowering Season

Spring

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 32 confirmed

, 18 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Pine White Neophasia menapiaNeophasia menapia

Brown-lined Looper Neoalcis californiariaNeoalcis californiaria

Silver-spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa argentataLophocampa argentata

Forest Tent Caterpillar Malacosoma disstriaMalacosoma disstria

Western Carpet Melanolophia imitataMelanolophia imitata

Mottled Gray Carpet Cladara limitariaCladara limitaria

The Small Engrailed Ectropis crepusculariaEctropis crepuscularia

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture

Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 3

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 20° F

Soil Drainage

Medium

Soil Description

Prefers rich, forest soil with well-decomposed organic component derived from decaying wood. For garden purposes add redwood compost to soil mix.

Companion Plants

Because of its great size, this tree should be used on large acreage with other species of the north coast such as Cascades Oregon Grape (Berberis nervosa), Water Birch (Betula occidentalis), Bush Chinquapin (Chrysolepis sempervirens), Dwarf Juniper (Juniperus communis), Huckleberry Oak (Quercus vaccinifolium), Stink Currant (Ribes bracteosum), and Western Raspberry (Rubus leucodermis).

Maintenance

Prune in winter when wood boring insects are less active.

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: No treatment. ( USDA Forest Service 1974); 1 mo. stratification ( Babb 1959).

Sunset Zones?

2, 3, 4*, 6*, 7, 14, 15*, 16*, 17*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Moist places near river mouths at lower elevations and usually near the coast, from Ft. Bragg (Mendocino County), California to Kodiak Island, Alaska

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 41.2" - 95.3", Summer Precipitation: 0.68" - 2.93", Coldest Month: 42.6" - 47.6", Hottest Month: 57.0" - 67.8", Humidity: 0.01" - 14.02", Elevation: 2" - 2788"

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis

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Sitka SprucePicea sitchensis

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Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis