A large evergreen conifer of the Tian Shan mountains of Central Asia, grown mainly as a big ornamental tree in large gardens and parks in cool temperate regions. It needs cold winters, space, and well-drained soil.
Family
Pinaceae (Pine family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water regularly while young and during dry spells, then mostly rely on rainfall once established.
Soil
Well-drained, moist, neutral to slightly acidic loam.
Temperature
Hardy to around -30 °C; tolerates cold winters, dislikes hot humid summers.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
C. Asia to Xinjiang
Climate
temperate
About
Picea schrenkiana, Schrenk's spruce, or Asian spruce, is a spruce native to the Tian Shan mountains of Central Asia (in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) and also to western China (Xinjiang). It grows at elevations of 1,200–3,500 m (3,900–11,500 ft), usually in pure forests, sometimes mixed with the Tien Shan variety of Siberian fir (Abies sibirica var. semenovii). Its name was given in honour of Alexander von Schrenk (1816–1876).
How to grow it
Picea schrenkiana is grown as an ornamental tree in large gardens and public parks in Europe.
Uses
Schrenk's spruce is an important tree in central Asia for timber and paper production, where few other large trees exist. Its slower growth compared to the Norway spruce (Picea abies) reduces its importance outside of its native range.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Picea schrenkiana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.