Balsam Fir
Abies balsamea Medium tree Zones 2–7 40–75 ft
Shares floodplain forests, the Appalachians, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Black Spruce
Picea mariana. Medium tree, 25 to 75 feet, zones 2 to 6; full sun, part shade or shade; dry, average or wet ground.
We do not grow black spruce, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Bog spruce, swamp spruce, shortleaf black spruce |
|---|---|
| Form | Medium tree |
| Height, feet | 25 to 75 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 30 |
| Zones | 2 to 6 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value |
| Pollen | May to June |
| Fruit | Cones, August to October |
| First crop | 10 years (much seed only from about 30) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones, but self-pollination lowers the share of filled seed, so a lone spruce bears less sound seed than spruces in a group. |
| Lifespan | Can live 370 years or more, and the oldest dated one reached 330. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, dry uplands, the Appalachians, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 13 states |
Black spruce is native in 13 states: Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in Illinois, where it is naturalized, not native.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of black spruce's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Black Gum (Tupelo)
Nyssa sylvatica Large tree Zones 4–9 40–70 ft
Shares floodplain forests, dry uplands, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Slippery Elm
Ulmus rubra Medium tree Zones 3–9 40–70 ft
Shares floodplain forests and dry uplands in the wild.
Peachleaf Willow
Salix amygdaloides Medium tree Zones 2–8 35–60 ft
Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
River Birch
Betula nigra Medium tree Zones 3–9 40–70 ft
Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Chestnut Oak
Quercus montana Medium tree Zones 4–8 50–70 ft
Shares dry uplands and the Appalachians in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the US Forest Service, Ontario's Old Growth Forests and Virginia Tech's dendrology site.