White Spruce, an evergreen conifer, is not an Ohio native, but is found throughout Ohio and much of the United States and Canada as a planted ornamental, primarily in two forms. The regular tree form has blue-green needles and serves as a slower-growing alternative to the blue-needled Colorado Spruce or the dark green-needled Norway Spruce, functioning either as a solitary specimen or as a group windbreak.
The compact, miniature tree form, known as Dwarf Alberta Spruce, is one of the most common dwarf conifers planted, having a perfect spire shape and very slow growth rate.
White Spruce is native to Canada and the northernmost tier of the United States, and prefers moist, cool climates. Its wood is a valuable source for construction lumber and pulp, primarily in Canada.
White Spruce gradually reaches 60 feet in height by 20 feet in spread with a slow growth rate, and adapts to a variety of harsh soil and sparse moisture conditions. Its growth habit is upright pyramidal and it often remains branched and foliaged to the ground, unless it is limbed up into a more stately tree form. Its needles are noticeably shorter, as compared to Norway Spruce or Colorado Spruce. As a member of the Pine Family, it is related to other Spruces, as well as the Firs, Larches, Pines, and Hemlocks.
Planting Requirements - White Spruce prefers moist , acidic soils that may be organic, sandy, or loamy; the soils may be well-drained or moderately drained, but not wet. It is also adaptable to a variety of less favorable conditions, including poor, clay, rocky, dry soils of acidic, neutral, or alkaline pH. It survives under seasonal drought once it is established, and takes fairly well to city pollution. It grows in full sun to partial sun in zones 2 to 6.
Potential Problems - White Spruce is generally a healthy tree, and like most spruces, it suffers needle damage due to feeding by various spider mites. One important cultural note is given for Dwarf Alberta Spruce, however. The extreme density of its foliage and stems, and the fact that it is often planted at structural foundations, promotes moisture retention within its thick canopy, especially on its "backside" when sited right next to a house, for instance.
As a result, insects and diseases gravitate to this source of moisture, and eventually devastate sectors of the canopy. To discourage this, water it only at the base of the trunk, and direct sources of spray irrigation away from this dwarf conifer, or put it in a spot where air circulation is good on all sides, to promote foliage drying.