Norway Spruce

A fast-growing evergreen giant that builds a dense, year-round windbreak and privacy screen — and shrugs off the coldest winters.

The Norway Spruce (Picea abies) is a classic, large-scale conifer with dark green needles and a strong pyramidal form that softens into gracefully drooping branchlets as it matures. It grows fast for a spruce, reaching roughly 50 ft. tall and 35–40 ft. wide, with branches that sweep low to the ground. That combination of speed, size, and density makes it a go-to for tall windbreaks, property-line screening, and a bold specimen on larger lots.

Why growers choose the Norway Spruce

• Fast, dense screening. One of the quicker-growing spruces, it fills in to form a solid evergreen wall that blocks views and wind from the ground up.
• Year-round green. Dark green needles hold their color through all four seasons, so the screen never thins out in winter.
• Built for cold. Hardy all the way to Zone 2, it handles brutal winters, heavy snow, and exposed open sites that defeat many evergreens.
• Deer tend to leave it alone. Like most spruces, its stiff needles make it considerably more deer-resistant than arborvitae.
• Low maintenance once established. Tolerant of a range of soils and largely care-free in full sun, asking only for room to grow.

Plant a single tree as a striking specimen or anchor, or set several in a row to build a windbreak or tall privacy screen along a property line — just give this big conifer the space it needs to spread.