Picea glauca ‘White Spruce’

Pinaceae: a fast-growing evergreen tree to 35m. Found in woods on good soils, along streams and lakes, rocky hills and slopes. Narrow, leathery-scaled cones from 3-7cm, borne near the ends of the shoots. The seeds ripen in September. The leaves are needle-like, 12-20mm long, rhombic in cross-section, glaucous blue-green. The bark is thin and scaly, flaking off in small circular plates. The crown is narrow – conic in young trees, becoming cylindric in older trees. Native to Northern North America, from Alaska to Newfoundland.

USES:

The young male catkins can be eaten raw or cooked. The Immature female cones can also be cooked. The central portion, when roasted, is sweet and syrupy. The Inner bark can be cooked, this is usually harvested in the spring and can be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups or added to cereals when making bread. A refreshing tea, rich in vitamin C, can be made from the young shoot tips, needles and the bark. Spruce oil, distilled from the leaves and twigs, is used in the food industry to flavour chewing gum, ice cream, soft drinks and sweets.

White spruce was widely employed medicinally by several native North American Indian tribes, who valued it especially for treating chest complaints. An infusion is also drunk in the treatment of rheumatism. The inner bark has also been used as a poultice on sores and infected areas and has also been used to bandage cuts. The tea made from the young shoot tips has antiseptic properties. It is used in the treatment of respiratory infections. A decoction of the stems is used as an herbal steam bath in the treatment of rheumatism. The gum has antiseptic, digestive, laxative, pectoral and salve properties.

GROWING INFORMATION:

White Spruce seeds are relatively easy to germinate and grow. The dormancy within the seed is short and easily broken and reasonable success can be expected even when seeds are sown without any form of pre-treatment. The benefit of a short period of pre-treatment is that a greater percentage of seeds will germinate, and the germination of the seedlings will be synchronised with most seedlings germinating within a few days of each other.

Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours. Fully drain away all the water and place the seeds in a zip-lock freezer bag. Place the seeds in the fridge, it is important that during this period that the seeds do not dry out or are waterlogged otherwise the pre-treatment will be ineffective. It is important to keep checking the seeds every week or so to make sure that they are not drying out. You could also at the start of treatment incorporate a little damp vermiculite or perlite, this helps to keep the seeds moist but not waterlogged.

After around 4 weeks under these conditions the seeds are ready to be sown. Seeds should be sown into containers filled with a good quality general potting compost. Suitable containers could be plant pots, seed trays or plug trays or even improvised containers with drainage holes. Firm the compost gently and sow the seeds on the surface. If you are sowing in plug trays, sow 2 or 3 seeds per cell. Cover the seeds with a couple of millimetres of vermiculite or failing that a fine layer of sieved compost. Follow with a gentle watering and keep them at room temperature. Germination will begin within a 10-14 day of sowing. The seedlings are reasonably robust and trouble free and usually grow to a height of between 2-10cm in the first growing season depending on the sowing date and cultural techniques. Developing seedlings should be fine in full sun, keep them well watered and free of competing weeds. Growth will accelerate in the second and subsequent years and the developing young trees should be re-potted as necessary preferably during the dormant season. After perhaps 2-3 years they are ready to be planted in their permanent position.

Trees like abundant moisture at the roots, if grown in drier areas it must be given a deep moist soil. Tolerates poor peaty soils, but dislikes shallow lime soils and shade. A short lived and slow growing tree both in the wild and in cultivation. The crushed foliage has a strong scent of balsam or lemon balm.

HARVESTED: 2017

APPROX. 50 SEEDS