White Spruce (Picea glauca)

The  White Spruce (picea glauca) is a species of spruce native to the northern temperate and boreal forests in North America. 
What it looks like
The White spruce is a large coniferous evergreen which grows normally to 15 to 30 m (50 to 100 ft) tall, but can grow up to 40 m (130 ft) tall with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m (3.3 ft). The crown is narrow – conic in young trees, becoming cylindrical in older trees. The needles are 12 to 20 mm (1⁄2 to 13⁄16 in) long, diamond-shaped in cross-section, blue-green above and blue-white below.

Where it is found
White spruce has a transcontinental range in North America. In Canada, distribution encompasses virtually the whole of the Boreal, Subalpine, Montane, Columbia, Great Lakes, St. Lawrence and Acadian Forest Regions extending into every province and territory.

Planting Tips
•	Moisture: Tolerates different moisture levels 
•	Shade: Tolerates partial shade 
•	Soil: Grows in a variety of soils
•	Bare Root Seedlings or Root Plugs -Dig a small hole 3 X size of root plug, fill with water and let drain. Remove all wrapping and place tree seedling upright while backfilling the hole with soil. Tamp down firmly around base, water again and keep watered (if no rain) until it’s big enough to let Mother Nature look after it. 
The White Spruce is an adaptable tree that grows well in a variety of soils, moisture levels, and light conditions. It can be trimmed for windbreaks or even shorter for hedges. 

Did You Know?

The White Spruce is of major economic importance in Canada for its wood, harvested for paper-making and construction and musical instruments. It is also used to a small extent as Christmas trees.
The wood is also exported to Japan where, known as "shin-kaya", it is used to make “go boards” a popular game in that country.  
White spruce is the provincial tree of Manitoba. 

White Spruce has many uses in traditional medicine. The inner bark and young shoots can be chewed, made into a tea, or used in steam bathing for treatment of tuberculosis, influenza, coughs, colds and rheumatism. The inner bark can be placed on sores and wounds where its antiseptic properties promote healing.