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Himalayan Spruce

Picea smithiana (PY-see-uh smith-ee-an-uh)

Family: Pinaceae Non-native Understory

The Himalayan Spruce is an evergreen conifer native to the western Himalayas and surrounding mountains. It is grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Its best performance is in climates with somewhat cool summers. Plants may struggle in locations that experience high heat and humidity. This plant is a tall, pyramidal, needled conifer with horizontal branching and drooping branchlets. It's needle-like green leaves surround the branches and are four-angled in cross-section. The tree bark is a scaly gray. Its shiny, brownish-purple, female cones are pendulous (loosely hanging). It has the longest needles of any spruce. Best grown in cool summer locations. Choose a conifer native to your area. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Although there are no serious insect or disease problems, spruces are generally susceptible to needle and stem rust, canker, trunk and root rot. Yellow-headed spruce sawfly, spruce budworm, and eastern spruce beetle are problems in some areas. Spider mites are common.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 40 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 2 - Understory
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Abies cilicica Cedrus atlantica x Hesperotropsis leylandii 'Reco'

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Tree
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Canopy layer
2 - Understory
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Horizontal; Weeping
Foliage
Needled Evergreen
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Needles
Leaf arrangement
Whorled
Leaf shape
Linear
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Smooth
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
4 sided dark green non prickly needles are up to 2 inches long and grow spirally on the branches.
Flower size
> 6 inches
Flower detail
No flowers
Fruit color
Brown/Copper; Purple/Lavender
Fruit detail
Purple cones ripen to shiny brown
Bark color
Light Brown
Bark detail
Greyish-brown bark that breaks into irregular, small plates and sheds in papery flakes
Stem color
Brown/Copper; Gray/Silver
Stem detail
Pendulous (drooping) when young with glabrous (smooth) texture
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Western Himalayas from Afghanistan to Nepal and Tibet.
Attracts
Small Mammals; Songbirds
Landscape Use
Garden tags
#evergreen #pyramidal #specimen #conifer #ornamentals #winter interest #showy cones #needles
Problems & Resistance
Insect problems
Pests of Conifers; Deodar Weevil / Eastern Pine Weevil; Spruce Spider Mite; Spruce Rust Mite

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.