Tsuga canadensis (Eastern Hemlock)

Tsuga canadensis (Eastern Hemlock) is a vigorous, straight-trunked, broadly pyramidal evergreen tree clothed with flat sprays of short deep green needles adorned with two white bands on their undersides. Its long, slightly descending branches with pendulous tips give this tree a graceful appearance. It produces an abundance of small, pendant, ovoid, brown cones, that hang from the tree like Christmas ornaments. The bark is purplish-gray and deeply furrowed on mature trees. Eastern Hemlock grows at a slow to medium rate, about 12-24 in. per year (30-60 cm). A graceful shade tree, it can also be trimmed into a magnificent hedge or used as a specimen or in groupings. Eastern Hemlock provides excellent nesting habitat for many species of birds including black-throated blue warblers, black-throated green warblers, and blackburnian warblers. The seeds are eaten by birds and mammals, and in the winter the foliage is browsed by white-tailed deer, moose, and snowshoe hares.

• Grows up to 40-70 ft. tall (12-21 m) and 25-35 ft. wide (7-11 m).
• A full sun or part shade lover, this plant is easily grown in humus-rich, acidic, moist, well-drained soils. Tolerates full shade. Shelter from cold, drying winds. Intolerant of drought.
• Perfect as a specimen plant.
• Low maintenance, no pruning required.
• No serious pest issues. Keep an eye out for butt rot fungus and root rot fungus.
• Propagate by seed in containers in a cold frame in spring; root semi-ripe cuttings in late summer or early autumn.
• Native to North America.