Bakeri Spruce

Picea pungens 'Bakeri'
Appearance:   An attractive accent tree with stout branches and a strongly pyramidal form.  Its slow rate of growth, compact stature and attractive, silver-blue needles make it a sought after specimen for smaller spaces.

Care and Maintenance:  An extremely hardy, low maintenance tree.  Deer resistant.  Pruning requirements are minimal, and should be restricted to dieback, or the season's new growth.  Adaptable to a variety of soil types/pH and dry or moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water.  Highly tolerant of urban pollution.   

Mature Height:  13'     Mature Spread:  10'
Growth Rate: Slow
Hardiness Zone:  2a
Sunlight:  Full sun

Colorado Spruce

​Picea pungens
Appearance:  A popular evergreen for larger landscapes, with a pyramidal shape, large, stout  branches and long, very pointy needles. Colour ranges from blue to green, and varies from tree to tree.  Makes an excellent accent specimen or windbreak.  

Care and Maintenance:  A tough, and hardy tree with a long lifespan.  Deer resistant.  Pruning requirements are minimal, and should be restricted to dieback, or the current season's new growth.  Adaptable to a variety of soil types/pH (avoid alkaline soils) and can handle environmental salt.  Fares well in dry or moist conditions and is extremely drought resistant once established, but will not tolerate standing water.  Highly tolerant of urban pollution.   
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Mature Height:  66'     Mature Spread:  15'
Growth Rate: Slow
Hardiness Zone:  2a
Sunlight:  Full sun

Columnar Scots/Scotch Pine

Pinus sylvestris 'Fastigiata'
Appearance:  A lovely evergreen for tall screens, vertical accents or a feature specimen where space is limited.  Pointy, twisted green needles on steeply angled branches, with a rigidly columnar growth habit.  The shaggy, orange bark of mature trees provides additional visual interest, year round.  

Care and Maintenance:  A relatively low maintenance variety that is adaptable to urban pollution and a variety of soil types and pH levels.  Performs best in dry to normal conditions with above average drainage, and is drought tolerant once established.  Will often die in standing water.  Pruning requirements are minimal, and should be restricted to dieback, or the current season's new growth.  Somewhat deer resistant.  Requires a sheltered spot.  

Mature Height:  20'     Mature Spread:  6'
Growth Rate: Slow
Hardiness Zone:  3
Sunlight:  Full sun

Columnar/Fastigiata Spruce

Picea pungens 'Fastigiata'
Appearance: With its distinctive needles and narrowly upright form, Columnar Spruce is uniquely unmistakable.  Dense needles emerge as pale blue new growth each spring, maturing to a rich silver-blue that is retained year round.  Its pleasing colour, steeply angled branches and columnar growth habit are highly sought after for their ornamental qualities in smaller landscapes.  

Care and Maintenance:   Columnar Spruce is a relatively low maintenance, deer resistant tree with a low canopy (3' from ground) and no significant negative characteristics.  Pruning requirements are minimal, and should be restricted to dieback, or the current season's new growth.  Adapts to a variety of soil types/pH levels.  Fares well in dry or moist conditions and is drought resistant once established, but will not tolerate standing water.  Highly tolerant of urban pollution.  

Mature Height:  20'     Mature Spread:  5'
Growth Rate: Slow
Hardiness Zone:  2b
​Sunlight:  Full sun

Lodgepole Pine

Pinus contorta
Appearance:   Long, pointed needles and loose, open growth habit within a pyramid form lend Lodgepole Pine a rugged character in the landscape.  Shaggy, brick-red bark provides additional texture and year-round interest.  

Care and Maintenance:  A relatively low maintenance variety with a remarkable lifespan:  under ideal conditions, Lodgepole Pine can live a century or more.  Pruning requirements are minimal, and should be restricted to dieback, or the current season's new growth.  Not particular in terms of soil pH, this tree performs exceptionally well in normal to poor, dry soil conditions with above average drainage.  It is drought tolerant once established, but will often die in standing water.  Highly tolerant of urban pollution.

Mature Height:  39'     Mature Spread:  10'
Growth Rate:  Moderate
Hardiness Zone:  3a
Sunlight:  Full sun

Mountain Pine

Pinus uncinata
Appearance:  A relatively small conifer that shares many qualities with its close relative, the Mugo Pine.  The Mountain Pine features long, soft, dark green needles, and a similarly dense, multi-stemmed, upright growth habit.  However, it grows taller, faster and broader than its Mugo cousins.  Ideal as a feature tree, or grouped in screens.

Care and Maintenance:  An extremely tolerant, low maintenance tree that adapts well to a variety of soil types and pH levels, and can handle environmental salt.  Performs best in dry to normal conditions with above average drainage.  Will often die in standing water.  Deer resistant.  Pruning requirements are minimal, and should be restricted to dieback, or the current season's new growth.  Somewhat tolerant of urban pollution.  
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Mature Height:  13'     Mature Spread:  7'
Growth Rate:  Moderate
Hardiness Zone:  2b
Sunlight:  Full sun

Ponderosa Pine

Pinus ponderosa
Appearance:  A tall evergreen with a varied appearance, Ponderosa pine is an arresting character tree for larger, natural-looking landscapes.  An unstructured growth habit often lends mature specimens a rugged, windswept appearance.  Long, shaggy needles, furrowed bark and large pine cones provide unmistakable texture and character to the landscape.   Excellent shade tree, or for use in windbreaks and shelterbets.  

Care and Maintenance:  An adaptable tree with a high canopy (7' from ground); lower limbs may be pruned to accommodate human traffic.  Ponderosa Pine are remarkably long-lived:  under ideal conditions, some specimens survive for 100 years or more .  Tolerant of adverse conditions, this tree prefers dry to average moisture levels with above average drainage, and is drought tolerant once established.  Can handle a variety of soil types/pH, but is intolerant of urban pollution and standing water.  Requires occasional maintenance and upkeep.  Pruning should be restricted to dieback, or the current season's new growth.    

Mature Height:  49'     Mature Spread:  16'
Growth Rate:  Moderate
Hardiness Zone:  3a
​Sunlight:  Full sun

Scots/Scotch Pine

Pinus sylvestris
Appearance:  A beautiful, medium-large tree that offers surprising versatility in the landscape, whether for use as an accent, windbreak or shade.  Densely pyramidal when young, Scots/Scotch Pine becomes open and more rounded with age.  Bluish-green needles and shaggy, orange bark provides texture and additional visual interest, year round. 

Care and Maintenance:  Of all pine varieties, Scots/Scotch Pine is the most tolerant of clay soils, making it a solid choice for landscapers in southern Alberta.  Regardless of soil type or pH, this tree performs best in normal to dry, very well drained conditions, and will often die in standing water.  Drought tolerant once established.  Pruning requirements are minimal, and should be restricted to dieback or the current season's new growth.  

Mature Height:  50'     Mature Spread:  30'
​Growth Rate: Moderate
​Hardiness Zone:  2b
Sunlight:  Full sun

Siberian Larch

Larix sibirica
Appearance:  A large, unique deciduous conifer with horizontal, spreading branches and a strong, pyramidal form.  Soft, fine green needles are densely clustered on short spurs, offering a delicate texture to the landscape composition.  Needles turn a stunning gold in autumn, before being shed and regrown the following year.  Textured bark and yellow branches provide winter interest.  Excellent accent tree.  Ideal for providing shade in summer, and sun in winter.  Often used in shelterbelts.

Care and Maintenance:  Long-lived and cold-hardy, Siberian Larch requires occasional maintenance, and  little pruning.  Deer don't particularly care for this tree.  Quite adaptable to a variety of soil types/pH levels, but is intolerant of urban pollution.  Prefers average to wet conditions, and can even handle some standing water.

Mature Height:  60'     Mature Spread:  25'
​Growth Rate:  Slow
Hardiness Zone:  2a
Sunlight:  Full sun to part shade

Vanderwolf's Pine

Pinus flexillis "Vanderwolf's"
Appearance:  A newer, increasingly popular accent tree for smaller spaces, thanks to its slender pyramidal form and striking looks.  Long, soft, slightly twisted blue-green needles and shaggy, grey bark provide fine texture and year-round visual interest.  Incredibly flexible branches, a slender form and open, leggy growth habit create a boinsai-like impression.  

Care and Maintenance:  A low maintenance tree that adapts well to a variety of soil types and pH levels.  Performs best in dry to normal conditions with above average drainage, and is drought tolerant once established.  Will often die in standing water.  Pruning requirements are minimal, and should be restricted to dieback, or the current season's new growth.  Somewhat tolerant of urban pollution.  

Mature Height:  20'     Mature Spread:  10'
Growth Rate:   Slow
Hardiness Zone:  4a
Sunlight:  Full sun to part shade​

White Spruce

​Picea glauca
Appearance:  A large, dense evergreen known for its soft needles, fine texture and stately, pyramidal form.  New growth  emerges light green in spring before turning a bluish-green that is retained year-round.  A recommended choice for windbreaks, or as a standout vertical accent in larger residential landscapes.

Care and Maintenance:  A native, North American species, White Spruce is arguably the hardiest variety of spruce available in Alberta.  Low maintenance and incredibly resilient, this tree is adaptable to virtually every soil type/pH, and can handle environmental salt.  It will thrive in varying levels of moisture, so long as site conditions are not continuously wet.  Drought tolerant once established.  Pruning requirements are minimal, and should be restricted to dieback or the current season's growth.  Tolerant of cold and urban pollution alike.

Mature Height:  66'     Mature Spread:  13'
Growth Rate:  Moderate
Hardiness Zone:  2
Sunlight:  Full sun