Eastern Hemlock Facts: Here's All About Canada's Native Tree

Eastern hemlock belongs to the genus Tsuga, and the species name is Tsuga canadensis.

Eastern hemlock, also called the Canadian hemlock or hemlock spruce, is a native hemlock species of North America. These North American trees create unique hemlock ecosystems.

Eastern hemlock can grow up to 60-100 ft (18-30 m) in length. The plant is characterized by dull evergreen needles and small cones hanging from the branch tips while retaining their scales.

Each scale consists of two winged seeds. It is a slow-growing plant that might take up to 250-300 years to reach full maturity. It can live 800 years more than that.

The plant's growth rate was measured to be a little more than 2.5 in (6.4 cm) in a decade. Unlike many plants, the Canada hemlock grows well in the shade.

Small animals like rabbits and grouse pose significant threats to the plant. Red squirrels might feed on the scales while white-tailed deer often attack eastern hemlocks' foliage. To plant a hemlock tree, you have to select a place that receives partial sunlight since the shade is important for growing them. Slow-release fertilizers help them to grow well.

Despite many beliefs, none of the parts of the hemlock tree is poisonous. Instead, some edible parts of the plan consist of carbohydrates, proteins, iron, vitamin A, and riboflavin. The eastern hemlock takes a minimum 0f five to six weeks to dry up. You can plant trees like Columbine, Bearberry, Wild Ginger, and White Woodland Aster.

Although it is used rarely, eastern hemlock forms a great wood that can be used during the winter. They are safe to burn. Eastern Hemlock can also be used as framing lumber since it is strong and can frame a house. This has increased the demand for hemlock lumber.

A Canada hemlock tree posts around 425-1325 US dollars. Common Carolina and mountain hemlock are closely related to eastern hemlock. These conifers make a poor Christmas tree since the remaining needles fall by Christmas.

Classification Of Eastern Hemlock

Eastern hemlock is a native plant of North America that looks graceful and soft. It is a mid-sized plant with a pyramidal structure. The tapering trunk of the young tree transforms to pendulously pyramidal as it ages.

The eastern hemlock belongs to the pine family. Unlike the pointy needles of red spruce, the eastern hemlock needles have a blunt tip. Eastern hemlocks are a bit unusual in their appearance, and the terminal leaves often droop instead of the pointed top-like structure, which is common in all conifers.

Eastern hemlock is on both coniferous trees that belong to the common genus of hemlock plants. Eastern hemlock belongs to the genus Tsuga, and the plant's scientific name is Tsuga canadensis.

It falls under the division Coniferophyta of conifers and class Pinopsida of conifers. They have a droopy top that does not resemble the other members of the Pinaceae family. It is a type of perennial plant with a short blooming period.

The long pointy leaves are attached to the slender stalks of the small plant. The dark green leaves have grooves on the surface with white bands on the lower surface.

The bark of Tsuga canadensis lacks resin-like blisters on their bark, unlike the young stalk of the balsam fir tree. The leaves have a more flattened appearance than a spiraled view on the plant's stem. Tsuga canadensis is a moderately dense tree having a conical structure.

They have fine branches and faces difficulty in natural pruning. Seed production of the tree begins after 15-20 years the tree is planted.

The flowers bloom in the spring season, and they form cones. The cones ripen during the fall, and finally, it takes around winter for the cones to finally produce seeds. The plant is capable of holding both male and female flowers.

A Tsuga canadensis is capable of existing for more than 800 years. They are highly susceptible to droughts and floods because of their shallow root system.

Varieties Of Eastern Hemlock

The Tsuga canadensis does not have many varieties of its own. It is known by the common names like eastern hemlock, Canada hemlock, or hemlock spruce. Eastern hemlock does not have any such varieties; instead, eastern hemlock is a variety of the hemlock species.

There are six different hemlock varieties: eastern hemlock, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, Carolina hemlock, southern Japanese hemlock, and Taiwanese hemlock. The different types of hemlocks are scientifically classified as the same species.

However, their sources of origin differ. These plants belong to the family of pines and therefore have similar physical characteristics.

Most of these plants grow into a cone or pyramid shape except the Taiwanese hemlock. The size of the different varieties differs.

For example, the eastern hemlock can grow up to a moderate height of 60 ft (18 m), while the mountain or Taiwanese hemlock can grow 150 ft (50 m) in height. Despite the differences in sizes, the soil conditions and habitat preferences of all varieties of hemlocks are the same.

Soil Requirements Of Eastern Hemlock

Eastern hemlock prefers to grow in moist, heavily moist soils with a very good drainage system. It is suitable for any acidic soil having the texture of loamy sand, sandy loam, and silty loam consisting of gravels that originated from the glaciers of upper profile.

The western and the easternmost varieties of eastern hemlock are restricted to the moist, cool valleys and flats. They also grow on benches, coves, and ravine soils.

The plants in the northern borders are more prone to accepting drier soils in warmer climates. They also prefer swampy areas where muck soils and peat are shallow.

Despite having the status of a moisture stealing plant, eastern hemlock efficiently grow in drier regions of North America such as rocky ledges.

Those eastern hemlock plans that typically grow in subxeric slopes receive their soil water from the seeps in the soil. The plant has scarce associates due to the acidic infertile humus, cool conditions, and low light.

Some shrubs, herbs, and mosses occur in the campy gaps of the plant, and eastern hemlock shares its soil type with such plants. Some of them are sweet birch, rhododendron, striped maple, starflower, witch hazel, common woodsorrel, mountain laurel, and many more.

Distribution And Habitat Of Eastern Hemlock

Eastern hemlock grows throughout the eastern region of North America, and they are commonly associated with the northern hardwoods of North America. The range of eastern hemlock forests extends from the Appalachian Mountains in the south up to Alabama and northern Georgia.

Their range extends up to western Ohio, western Kentucky, and Indiana in the east. They are mainly found in the conifer or mixed conifer forests.

Eastern hemlock trees occur in eastern North America, and they are found up to the border of northeastern Minnesota. In the west, the plant occupies one-third of Wisconsin and runs east through northern Michigan, southern Quebec, south-central Ontario, and the entire nation of Nova Scotia.

Within the United States, hemlock is found in New England, Pennsylvania, New York, and the middle Atlantic states.

In the US, the eastern hemlock extends westward from Central New Jersey to the Appalachian Mountains and further south into Alabama and northern Georgia. Some are scattered in extreme southern portions of Michigan and western Ohio.

They also occur in small numbers in the scattered islands of southern Indiana and the eastern part of the Appalachian Mountains. The eastern hemlock occurs in hardwood forests, conifer forests, and northern swamp forests.

In the hardwood forests of the parts of the north, eastern hemlock is available in a variety of sites, including the glacial ridges and low rolling hills. They prefer moist areas and grow well inadequately swampy soil. They are primarily found in groups of plants standing with other conifers of swampy lands.

Overall, the plant is excellent for moist and well-drained acidic, rocky, and sandy soils. They can thrive in pretty acidic soils and are shade-tolerant.

Eastern hemlocks trees are threatened majorly by hemlock woolly adelgid. These forests are in the early stage of adelgid attack and potentially decimated by the hemlock woolly adelgid. They are tiny and small-bodied aphids that suck on coniferous plants only using piercing mouthparts.

This invasive species originated in Asia. It is the official state tree of the state of Pennsylvania. The eastern hemlock is also threatened by hemlock scale, ithacae, and Abgrallaspis cyanophylli damages young trees.