Good article on Norway Spruce
- Thread starter Native Hunter
- Start date
John-W-WI
Administrator
Excellent article, but proof why ground cover makes ALL the difference. Not just with cuttings. Depending on what you plant, fabric or plastic will cut YEARS off of establishing new trees. It's more work up front, but worth it if you don't want to wait 2 - 5 years to get things going.
Norways are my current favorite evergreen, I haven't planted enough of them to be sure the deer leave them alone, but I'm counting on it when I plan a couple thousand of them this spring! I know for a fact my deer will nibble on every white pine I plant, and rub every white spruce.
-John
Norways are my current favorite evergreen, I haven't planted enough of them to be sure the deer leave them alone, but I'm counting on it when I plan a couple thousand of them this spring! I know for a fact my deer will nibble on every white pine I plant, and rub every white spruce.
-John
bowhunternw
5 year old buck +
Do you guys think is much difference between White and Norway? I went with white because of a recommendation by the forester, guess I will have to try some Norway next year and see if there is a difference in growth.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
That was my exact thinking, except white spruce seem to do better on lighter soil.
I have the same question - I guess I would be interested in hearing if anyone has planted white spruce and Norway spruce side by side. I planted 500 white spruce last week in both hinge cut woods areas as well as grass dominated openings in my field edge visual screens. White spruce take a few years to get established, but they can grow 2 feet per year eventually.
wiscwhip
5 year old buck +
I would agree with NoFo, Norways are considered faster growing and more forgiving of adverse conditions than whites.
Did your whites die in moist soil right away or once they were older? I planted a number of white spruce 8 years ago in Rusk County WI on the edge of a wet area and I was surprised by how well the whites did there. I even planted a few in some areas with swamp grass and they survived and are doing as well. I filled in a few other similar areas up there last week since it was kind of a dead area and it was worth a shot throwing in a few dozen trees there. I'm not expecting much, but it was worth a shot. I think the water table is pretty high there, so I'm guessing that even if the whites live they will eventually be toppled over by strong winds, but who knows.
Jim Timber
5 year old buck +
My norways have been stunted, but they're in really heavy soil.
I planted black spruce along the edge of where the norways are yesterday (5-15 feet from them), and was putting plugs into standing water in spots. Based on the natural cohabitating plant types, I should've planted blacks from the start. Blacks natural cohorts are red maple, paper birch, aspen, bur oak, and black ash; IOW, they fit right in!
I planted black spruce along the edge of where the norways are yesterday (5-15 feet from them), and was putting plugs into standing water in spots. Based on the natural cohabitating plant types, I should've planted blacks from the start. Blacks natural cohorts are red maple, paper birch, aspen, bur oak, and black ash; IOW, they fit right in!
Jim Timber
5 year old buck +
I don't think anything could grow slower than my norways.
It comes down to "will a fast growing tree grow faster than a slow growing tree under poor conditions?"
I got brokered norways from God knows where, and after 4 years in the dirt they're no bigger than the plugs I'm planting this week.
The ones in full sun are 12".
Edited to add:
4yr old norway next to seedling 6 black plug.
It comes down to "will a fast growing tree grow faster than a slow growing tree under poor conditions?"
I got brokered norways from God knows where, and after 4 years in the dirt they're no bigger than the plugs I'm planting this week.
The ones in full sun are 12".
Edited to add:
4yr old norway next to seedling 6 black plug.
Last edited:
Jim Timber
5 year old buck +
I'll probably dig up a couple when it warms up and try transplanting them into ammended soil in sunny spots to see how they respond.
There was a show on Twin Cities PBS where they visited a norway plantation 20 yrs old and the trees were 8-10' tall. They called it the Charlie Brown site.
That show got me thinking about if my original order of 250 white and 250 norway were a wise move back in November. I'd ordered 150 blacks, thinking I'd use them on my lower elevations where they're closer to the water table in my swamp.
As luck would have it, Itasca had a terrible winter with their white's and norway's, but had plenty of healthy blacks. So I switched my order to all blacks. Then they goofed and forgot to pull my 4a trays, but had a 720 tree order of size 6 plugs that had been cancelled and were boxed and in the cooler. They sold me those for the same price as the smaller plugs, and I bought the rest of the trees for about $4 after my tray deposit was applied.
It'll be interesting to see how the norways and blacks compete in the coming years. Norways are along the interior edge of my border planting, and the blacks follow the surveyors markers along the outside of the same strip.
There was a show on Twin Cities PBS where they visited a norway plantation 20 yrs old and the trees were 8-10' tall. They called it the Charlie Brown site.
That show got me thinking about if my original order of 250 white and 250 norway were a wise move back in November. I'd ordered 150 blacks, thinking I'd use them on my lower elevations where they're closer to the water table in my swamp.
As luck would have it, Itasca had a terrible winter with their white's and norway's, but had plenty of healthy blacks. So I switched my order to all blacks. Then they goofed and forgot to pull my 4a trays, but had a 720 tree order of size 6 plugs that had been cancelled and were boxed and in the cooler. They sold me those for the same price as the smaller plugs, and I bought the rest of the trees for about $4 after my tray deposit was applied.
It'll be interesting to see how the norways and blacks compete in the coming years. Norways are along the interior edge of my border planting, and the blacks follow the surveyors markers along the outside of the same strip.
Jim Timber
5 year old buck +
These are all in a clearing. It's a fence row that's been cut over.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
I think the best choice in spruce depends on your general soil conditions and more so the exact soil at the planting site. We have discussed the preferences of the various spruces as to soil type.
Best choice is to plant a variety of spruce. It may reduce risk of disease and risk of complete failure if soil conditions are somewhat unknown.
Best choice is to plant a variety of spruce. It may reduce risk of disease and risk of complete failure if soil conditions are somewhat unknown.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
I agree completely, Bur. Norways grow well for us at camp, as do whites, but the white spruce are slower to get going. We do the successional planting like you do, Bur - so we have different ages and heights. They make great bedding and security cover and super thermal cover in the winter cold.
For our area, the first 2 years are pretty slow growth until they get a root system established. Then I sprinkle some 10-10-10 around the spruce and they take off. But that could vary widely with the soil type each of us has. ( We have a loamy / clayish soil ) I want to try a few Black Hills spruce to see how they do at camp. From pix on this forum, they look like a heck of a good tree.
For our area, the first 2 years are pretty slow growth until they get a root system established. Then I sprinkle some 10-10-10 around the spruce and they take off. But that could vary widely with the soil type each of us has. ( We have a loamy / clayish soil ) I want to try a few Black Hills spruce to see how they do at camp. From pix on this forum, they look like a heck of a good tree.
