What Are Some Strengths & Weaknesses for Sitka Spruce?

Identification

• Native to the Pacific Northwest, Sitka spruce is an evergreen conifer in the Pinaceae family. The easiest way to identify Sitka spruce is to pluck some of the foliage. Needles stick out on all sides of the plant but are somewhat flattened, and are not symmetrical, so you can’t roll the twig easily between your fingers. Leaves are green on top but a powdery white when seen from underneath. The foliage is also quiet sharp, so warn kids that they could get hurt handling it.

Hardiness Range

• Sitka spruce does best in moist, well-drained sites along the Pacific Coast. Because it does so well next to the ocean, it is not often found more than 10 or 20 miles away from it. Although you can grow it in a garden further away, it prefers cool, wet, foggy air (such as in the coastal fog belt) and intermittent sunlight and is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 6 through 9. It does not like competing with other trees, so unless you can provide it with a wide-open location, it’s best not to plant it. This habitat specificity will be quite an advantage if you have a suitable garden, but a disadvantage if you do not.

Thin Bark

• The Sitka spruce has relatively thin bark, only an inch thick on even the most mature specimens. Although this isn’t always a problem, it can mean greater susceptibility to wounds or infection from deer, which often rub their antlers against trees and will eat almost anything if they are hungry enough. Sites where bark has been stripped from a tree are prone to infection. Although thin bark could prove to be a disadvantage, Sitka spruce isn’t normally known for its susceptibility to disease. Deer, elk, bears and rabbits, among other animals, like to nibble on the new foliage of the Sitka spruce, so if you already have a critter problem, planting the tree could compound it.

Height and Width

• Sitkas are the largest of all spruces and grow quiet quickly, sometimes gaining as much as 175 feet in 100 years. In gardens it more often grows to between 40 and 60 feet, but given enough time could reach 160 or more. The tree’s height could prove either an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on what you want to use it for. It is perfect for a large landscape, surrounded by grass in a sunny location, but not suited to a small garden.