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Tsuga heterophylla
Also called Pacific Hemlock, Western Hemlock-spruce, West Coast Hemlock
Western hemlock is a large, long-lived conifer of the Pacific Northwest, growing to 50 to 70 metres tall. It thrives in cool, moist, shaded sites with plenty of organic matter in the soil.
Tsuga heterophylla, the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of conifer in the pine family, Pinaceae. It typically grows to 70 metres (230 feet) tall and is long-lived at high elevations. Native to the northwest coast of North America, it is a source of timber, tannin, and edible cambium.
Western hemlock is cultivated as an ornamental tree in gardens in its native habitats and along the U.S. Pacific Coast, where its best reliability is seen in wetter regions. In relatively dry areas, as at Victoria, British Columbia, it is exacting about soil conditions. It needs a high level of organic matter (well-rotted wood from an old log or stump is best; animal manures may have too much nitrogen and salt), in a moist, acidic soil. It is also cultivated in temperate regions worldwide. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
It can also be found in large gardens in northwest Europe and southern New Zealand.
Tsuga heterophylla is native to the northwest coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma County, California.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tsuga heterophylla 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.
