Picea Abies Excelsa Norway Spruce

Picea Abies Excelsa (Norway Spruce) is a large evergreen conifer with soft glossy green needles and traditional cones in winter. It’s an excellent landscaping tree that needs space.

This handsome conifer is better known as the Norway Spruce. It’s native to Europe from the Alps to the Carpathian Mountains growing from sea level up to 3,000 metres in altitude. It’s a hardy, versatile tree and one we tend to associate with Christmas, often used as the quintessential Christmas tree. 

Young Picea Abies Excelsa grows upright and conically spreading in width as it matures. Its strong branches are covered in soft 2.5-centimetre glossy green needles on branchlets that are safe for pets and small children to touch.

In autumn, traditional-style cones appear on branch tips. To start with they are scaly red-green cylinders but they mature into tapered, orange-brown cones that reach up to 15 centimetres long and five centimetres wide.

Height And Spread of Picea Abies Excelsa
Picea Abies Excelsa is a large conifer that needs space to grow because it can reach 20 metres tall by eight metres in spread over 20 – 50 years.  
If this is too large, we have cultivars such as Picea Pungens Hoopsii that reaches around two metres or Colorado Spruce Iseli Fastigiate that reaches three meters in height, but only 75 centimetres in width.

How Hardy Is Picea Abies Excelsa
This is a very hardy conifer that copes with the coldest winters if its roots are well drained and it receives full sun. The RHS rate it H7 which is their hardiest grade.

How To Use Picea Abies Excelsa
Norway Spruce is an excellent landscaping tree for large spaces. It’s a colourful evergreen that creates shade in summer and interest throughout the winter months.
Birds, squirrels, and insects take cover in its dense branches and its cones are fun for children to play with as well as an eco-friendly Christmas decorations. Trees are rarely lower maintenance than Norway Spruces.

How To Care For Picea Abies Excelsa
An easy-care, low-maintenance Norway Spruce needs little attention once it’s established.
Choose a spot in full sun with neutral to acidic soil because it won’t thrive in the shade or on chalk. Ensure it has plenty of room to grow.

The number one killer of newly planted trees is lack of water. Give Norway Spruce a watering can full each day until you spot new growth, even if it’s been raining. Trees need lots of water to establish their root system.

Pruning isn’t required, but a thick layer of acidic mulch (bracken, pine or ericaceous compost) each year will boost its nutrient intake and seal in moisture.