black spruce
Picea mariana · Pinaceae
black spruce (Picea mariana) is a perennial tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 1 and warmer, down to about -79°F.
At a glance
| Type | tree USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 65 ft USDA |
| Light | shade USDA |
| Water need | high USDA |
| Growth rate | slow USDA |
| Soil pH | 4.7–6.5 USDA |
| Bloom | May–June USDA |
| Flower color | Yellow USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 1 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | canopy Derived |
| Nursery availability | Routinely Available USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It tolerates full shade. USDA rates it as having needs consistently moist ground. Its drought tolerance is rated low. It is recorded on soils from pH 4.7 to 6.5 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 1.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 65 ft, making it a large tree that will dominate its site. It grows slowly.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of May through June. Flowers are yellow.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, medium in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. Its active growth period is summer. Its winter foliage is dense, which makes it useful for year-round screening. USDA rates its lifespan as moderate.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 5 to 60 inches of annual precipitation. The low end of that band is genuinely arid, so it has a wide tolerance for dry country. It needs at least 60 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 16 inches. Fertility requirement: medium.
Propagating it
It takes readily from seed, cuttings, bare root and container stock. Seed needs cold stratification — a period of moist chilling — before it will germinate, so sow in autumn or chill it artificially before a spring sowing. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It spreads vegetatively at a slow rate.
Resilience and wildlife
Browsing animals find it moderately palatable, so expect deer and rabbits to take an interest. Its fire tolerance is rated none. Its growth form is recorded as single stem.
Role in a guild
Canopy. In a layered planting this is the tallest layer of a planting — it sets the light budget everything beneath it lives on. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Picea
- Norway spruce Picea abies
- Brewer spruce Picea breweriana
- Engelmann spruce Picea engelmannii
- white spruce Picea glauca
Similar role and hardiness
- paper birch Betula papyrifera
- tamarack Larix laricina
- lodgepole pine Pinus contorta
- balsam poplar Populus balsamifera
- quaking aspen Populus tremuloides
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol PIMA, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, Bloom, Bloom end, browse palatability, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Type, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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