Black Hills Spruce Seeds 25 Count Picea glauca Dakota Spruce, Mountain Spruce Description: Tree with rows of horizontal branches forming a conical crown; This tall, straight conifer grows over 80' tall and reaches diameters of 1'-2'. It has very stiff green and blue-green evergreen needles Hardiness: USDA Zones 2b to 7a. Height: 40-100' (12-30 m). Diameter: 1-2' (0.3-0.6 m). Needles: evergreen; 1/2-3/4 (12-19 mm) long. Stiff, 4-angled, sharp-pointed; spreading mainly on upper side of twig, from very short leafstalks; blue-green, with whitish lines. Bark: gray or brown, thin, smooth or scaly; cut surface of inner bark whitish. Twigs: orange-brown, slender, hairless, rough, with peg like bases. Cones: 1 1/2-2 1/2"" (4-6 cm) long; cylindrical, shiny light brown, hanging at end of twigs, falling at maturity; cone-scales thin and flexible, margins nearly straight and without teeth; paired brown, long-winged seeds. Location: Now widely planted for landscaping, the blue spruce is native to a fairly narrow geographic range in the central Rocky Mountains in the United States. In nature, it generally occurs along stream bottoms and on moist sites at 6,000' to 11,000' elevation. Light: Tolerant of some shade. Moisture: Average. Usage: Blue spruce is most commonly used as an individual specimen tree but would be an attractive grove or windbreak tree. Features: The striking blue colored foliage has made the blue spruce a popular landscape tree in the United States. Discussion: This is the foremost pulpwood and generally the most important commercial tree species of Canada. As well as providing lumber for construction, the wood is valued for piano sounding boards, violins, and other musical instruments. White Spruce and Black Spruce are the most widely distributed conifers in North America after Common Juniper, which rarely reaches tree size. Various kinds of wildlife, including deer, rabbits, and grouse, browse spruce foliage in winter. ""
