Description
Latin Name: Picea obovata
DESCRIPTION
Family: Pinaceae
Native Range: Native east from the Ural mountains to the Sea of Okhotsk
Seed Source: Specimen trees, near Indian Head Saskatchewan.
Height and Spread: 15m x 7m
Overview: The ‘Kabalin’ seed strain is excellent for tree planting in non-boreal regions. The tree typically has a single round straight trunk and a pyramidal to narrowly conical crown. This seed strain was introduced from the forests near Novosibirsk Siberia in the 1980s. It has proven hardy after 35 growing seasons in southern Saskatchewan. It is named for Sergei Invanovich Kabalin, from Novosibirsk, Siberia who helped with the collection of this seed source.
Seeds: Dark brown seeds oblong at base 4 mm long.
Average number of seeds/packet: 600
SEED TREATMENT / SOWING
Stratification:
Soak in water for 24 hours then stratify for 30 days in moist sand at 5°C.
Ideal sowing time: Sow stratified seed outdoors in late May or non-stratified seed in early September.
Sowing instructions: Outdoors - sow 1.0 cm deep, 50 seeds/meter; Greenhouse - sow 3 seeds per cell.
Growing conditions: Siberian spruce grows on a wide variety of soils but favours loamy soils with a pH of 5.0 to 7.0. It is shade tolerant but grows best in a sunny exposure.
AGROFORESTRY VALUE
'Kabalin' Siberian spruce can be used as specimen or shade trees on larger properties or farmyards. In Siberia it is an important timber tree. The needles are sometimes used by locals to make spruce beer. Because of its hardness and flexibility, its wood is used mainly for flooring. Its dense coniferous crown provides excellent habitat for songbirds and thermal cover for mammals.
