Serbian Spruce

It's all been said below: this is one of the best conifer trees for eastern and midwestern North America. It's more adaptable than most s...Read Morepruces, and tolerates city conditions. It's elegant, and it takes up less ground area than other tall-growing conifers. Its slim profile and relatively slow growth are advantages where space is limited.

The Royal Horticultural Society has granted this species its prestigious Award of Garden Merit.

A handsome conifer tree from southeast Europe that is sold by some larger nurseries in the Midwest and East and found occasionally plante...Read Mored here and there by landscape designers and well-to do homeowners. It grows about 1 foot/year and is expensive to buy. It is more graceful than the bigger and much faster growing Norway Spruce that is so commonly planted. Its needles are flat, unlike most spruces, and are shiny dark green above and bluish below.

Commonly planted conifer where space is an issue. They tend to stay under 10' width and I've seen them planted a few feet from buildings....Read More Planted extensively along our raised rapid transit lines for fastigiated growth, low maintenance and evergreen foliage. One of the few conifers used in downtown highrise office tower plantings.

Serbian spruce is an exceptional conifer worthy of use anywhere it is hardy, and especially in the midwest where limestone-based soils ar...Read Moree abundant. This tree is certainly a welcome choice where space is limited, since it takes up only a small footprint at ground level while stretching its trunk skyward.

The upswept branch habit at the tips allows the silvery white undersides of the needles to be seen, creating a two-toned color effect in the landscape. Serbian spruce is often used on the European continent as a border screening plant, where it can even take a certain amount of shearing to make it even narrower.

I have grown this plant for over twenty years, and there are fine specimen plants around central KY and the Ohio River valley region many decades older than that. I would encourage those that are looking for a tall conifer to "branch" out beyond the overused white pines and Norway spruces, and try some of the narrower firs and spruces like Serbian spruce.