# Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)

> Western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla: its height and zones, when it sheds pollen and bears cones, how fast it grows, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/western-hemlock/

![A small open western hemlock cone hanging among short, flat needles of uneven length on slender twigs](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/western-hemlock-1000.jpg?v=599544c9 "Western hemlock needles and an open cone on April 14, 2009. It typically lives 400 to 500 years.")
*Photo: Ebustad, [Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHemlock_foliage_and_cone.jpg) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHemlock_foliage_and_cone.jpg))*

Large tree, 60 to 100 feet where planted, zones 5 to 8; full sun, part shade or shade; average or wet ground.

We do not grow western hemlock, 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

| Fact | Western Hemlock |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Pacific hemlock, west coast hemlock, coast hemlock, Alaska pine |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 60 to 100 where planted; up to 273 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 30 |
| Zones | 5 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, hedge or screen, erosion control |
| Pollen | April to June |
| Fruit | Cones, September to October |
| First crop | 25 to 30 years (first flowers from about 10) |
| Pollination | Not known whether one bears alone |
| Lifespan | Typically lives 400 to 500 years, and the oldest dated one reached 1,238. 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 | Stream banks, floodplain forests, rich moist slopes and the forest understory |
| Native in | 6 states |

Western hemlock is native in 6 states: [Alaska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AK), [California](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CA), [Idaho](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ID), [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT), [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR) and [Washington](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WA). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and the Jepson eFlora.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=western-hemlock): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=western-hemlock): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=western-hemlock&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=western-hemlock): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=western-hemlock): the planting-window tool
- [When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=western-hemlock): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=western-hemlock): the seed sowing planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=western-hemlock): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=western-hemlock): the tree age calculator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=western-hemlock): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Balsam Poplar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/balsam-poplar/index.html.md) (*Populus balsamifera*): large tree, 30 to 100 feet, zones 2 to 5. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Peachleaf Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/peachleaf-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix amygdaloides*): medium tree, 35 to 60 feet, zones 2 to 8. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Bur Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bur-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus macrocarpa*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Black Cherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-cherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus serotina*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares rich moist slopes in the wild.
- [Tamarack](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/tamarack/index.html.md) (*Larix laricina*): large tree, 50 to 75 feet, zones 2 to 6. Shares stream banks in the wild.
- [Every companion of western hemlock in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=western-hemlock)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, NC State Extension, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants and the Gymnosperm Database.