Canadian Hemlock

Tsuga canadensis

Use

Screen Plant, Border Plant, Hedge Plant

Notes

Transplants well if root pruned, amenable to pruning; an excellent subject of moist , well drained , acid soils, rocky bluffs or sandy soils. Does not tolerate wind or drought, plant in sheltered locations

Extremely graceful glossy dark green needles all year

Light:

Unlike most conifers tolerates shade well; can also grow in full sun

Soil type:

Moist, well-drained, acid soils

Zone:

3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Maximum height:

40-70 ft, national champion in 165 ft by 38 ft in the great Smoky Mountains

Spread:

25-35 ft

Growth speed:

Medium (25-50 ft in 15-30 years)

Habit (shape):

Softly and gracefully pyramidal in youth with tapering trunk, becoming pendulously pyramidal with age; one of the most beautiful conifers

Flowers:

Monoecious; staminate light yellow, pistillate pale green

Fruit:

Cones slender, stalked ovoid, apex nearly blunt, 1/2 to 1 inches long. Brown at maturity; hang like small ornaments form the branches

Texture:

Fine

Insect susceptibility:

Spruce leaf miner

Disease susceptibility:

Leaf blight, blister rust, and needle rust