It doesn't like summer heat - that is going to be your major problem; it is very rarely successful in the eastern US. Plant it somewhere as cool as you can.

Where the climate is suitable for it - mild winters, cool summers - it is very fast growing, and very large, up to 2 metres per year when young; recorded in Britain to 40m in 40 years. There's one on Vancouver Island BC, 95m tall (tallest tree in Canada).

These are 50-55m tall, and about 80 years old, growing in a forestry plantation in Britain:

Resin

The Virginia Arboretum planted one a few years ago and it did not last long. I don't know why it died--it may be because of summer heat, or it may be because of winter cold (or maybe some jerk lost control of his tractor and ran over it). One time I visited the Arboretum and it was gone without a trace. I was surprized when I saw it planted and not so surprized to see it gone. Because it grows mostly near our NW coast, I would think that the cold here in the eastern states would be too much for it. Maybe some thick mulch would be a good idea--it could keep the ground from freezing too much. I don't imagine that the ground freezes anywhere in its natural range. I love spruce trees, as you could guess, but I wouldn't try a Sitka spruce here. If you don't mind, keep us posted about how it does.

--Spruce

I have a 2 y.o. sitka that is fine so far in zone 5, certainly not a measure of long-term success tho. Will be interesting to see how it fares in the future. It gets quite a bit of shade in the summer from surrounding plants, maybe that helps a bit? I was initially worried about winter sun but that hasn't been a problem so far. I think they are beautiful, love the bluish new growth against the green.

I have 5 sitka spruce that were "volunteers" in my yard in Alaska, where I lived for 36 years. They spent over a year (including one Alaska winter) growing in 5 gallon buckets that formerly held tomatoes. When I moved to New Mexico I brought them with me - one year ago. I potted them up and they have been through one New Mexico winter in their containers. I left them in containers to better control the moisture level since it is so dry here - opposite of what they like. I keep them under a giant elm tree and they get dappled sunlight. I'm afraid to give them the full NM sun - don't want them to cook. They had new growth this spring and seem to be doing okay - haven't lost any needles. I have a sentimental attachment to them and am hoping for them to make it through this winter as well. I'm not sure what to do with them going forward - I suppose the next step is a larger container. I'm in zone 7 - when I was in AK I was 70 miles due south of Anchorage - I'm not sure what zone that is but we did get some below zero weather every year and lots of snow.

I meant to say that I've had a sitka for 2 yrs., I have no idea how old it actually is :).

i have:

Picea sitchensis 'Papoose'
Picea sitchensis 'Sugarloaf'

both dwarf WB's .... both are doing just fine in my windy zone 5 ... some years nested under snow cover.. last year.. blasted all winter with no snow cover.. both growing just fine .... they are sited in a spot that is bright but not much direct sun .... no winter sun in the afternoon due to pines and the declination of the sun .... morning winter sun is filtered through a deciduous tree ...

maybe the sandy soil makes a difference ... ken

Persons looking for a species tree might consider the Englemann spruce, a close relative of the Sitka spruce (where the ranges overlap you get intergradation based upon local microclimates). However, the Englemann spruce will tolerate quite a bit colder winters and drier summers. I don't know how they would do in the eastern US. Furthermore, the Englemann spruce tends to a bluer color than the Sitka.

I've had a sitka make it through two winters so far, this upcoming one will be it's third. The first winter it had significant needle loss, but pushed new growth just fine. The second winter it had absolutely no problems and pushed a full foot of new growth this spring/summer. It's sited at the bottom of a VERY gradual north facing slope, very close to the floodplain of a small (15 foot wide) creek. It gets direct sun and is fully exposed virtually year round, only slightly shaded on the west by a low growing pussy willow bush, woodchip mulch. I'm hoping it will do well for me based on the facts that it is in a slightly cooler microclimate on the property and our summer highs are in the mid 90's F, never above 100 F. Best of luck vaderbanger!