Common Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis Large tree Zones 3–9 40–60 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
A native we do not grow
White Spruce
Picea glauca. Large tree, 40 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 6; full sun, part shade or shade; dry or average ground.
We do not grow white 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 | Canada spruce, Canadian spruce, skunk spruce, cat spruce, single spruce, Black Hills spruce |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 40 to 80 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 20 |
| Zones | 2 to 6 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Hedge or screen, erosion control |
| Pollen | May to July |
| Fruit | Cones, August to October |
| First crop | 30 or more years (in quantity; cones and seed have come on planted trees of 4) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones, but a lone spruce sets much of its seed with its own pollen, and that seed is often empty or gives weak seedlings. |
| Lifespan | Can live 1,000 years, and the oldest dated one reached 589. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on white spruce marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Stream banks, floodplain forests, dry uplands, old fields and edges |
| Native in | 12 states |
White spruce is native in 12 states: Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming. 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 Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, 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 white spruce's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Slippery Elm
Ulmus rubra Medium tree Zones 3–9 40–70 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
American Elm
Ulmus americana Large tree Zones 2–9 60–80 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, old fields and edges in the wild.
Bur Oak
Quercus macrocarpa Large tree Zones 3–8 60–80 ft
Shares floodplain forests, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Black Gum (Tupelo)
Nyssa sylvatica Large tree Zones 4–9 40–70 ft
Shares floodplain forests, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Shumard Oak
Quercus shumardii Large tree Zones 5–9 50–80 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests and dry uplands 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 and UF/IFAS Extension.