Tsuga canadensis 'Gentsch White'
Common name: 
Gentsch White Canadian Hemlock
Pronunciation: 
TSOO-ga ka-na-DEN-sis
Family: 
Pinaceae
Genus: 
Synonyms: 
'Variegata Gentsch' Canadian Hemlock
Type: 
Conifer
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Conifer, evergreen, globose, dwarf shrub, slow growing, 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) per year, to about 4.5 ft (1.5 m) tall and wide in 10 years, may finally each a size of 10 ft (~2.5 m).  Needles at the tip of branchlets are silver white, especially intense in fall and winter.  Annual shearing is recommended to maintain compact growth and encourage new, white growth; this enhances the contrast with the older green foliage.

  • Sun (in northern climates) to partial shade, average watering, best on well-drained soils.

  • Hardy to USDA Zone 4

  • This cultivar originated as a seedling selected in the 1960s by Otto Gentsch of Long Island, New York. It was first introduced under the illegitimate cultivar name, 'Variegata Gentsch.'  According to international rules [International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP)], cultivar names coined since 1959 should be in a modern language, i.e., they should not be Latin or Latinized, as many were in the past.

Click image to enlarge
  • plant habit, sheared

    plant habit, sheared

  • foliage

    foliage

  • needles

    needles