Douglas fir progression

[August44]

Yes, I was wondering about the characteristics also. So what type of fir do you think it is? The fact that you brought it from 10,000 ft down to your level and it is living is pretty amazing also.

 

[parhamr]

Not bad drawing/idea. How to get 2 heavy branches downward?

A wedge cut will totally work on this species

 

[Hartinez]

Yes, I was wondering about the characteristics also. So what type of fir do you think it is? The fact that you brought it from 10,000 ft down to your level and it is living is pretty amazing also.

Almost certain it’s a Doug Fir.
I did have to give it partial shade during the hottest months, but otherwise it hasn’t skipped a bit. And honestly, the collection site was prob more like 9.2 or so.
What is cool is The englemann spruce I collected from the same area say in full sun through our hottest months and did not skip a beat. Very strong growth all summer. I thought for sure I’d have to shade those as well.

 

[parhamr]

That was one of my original thoughts when I first collected, but a couple senior members commented that it was not. And after looking more in to it, sub alpine bark is so much more smooth, or elephant like.

Those buds are also distinctly 100% Pseudotsuga.

(Subalpine fir buds are blunted with a silvery tan color. They have “plates” of tissue on the tips, are coarser than Douglas-fir, and do not have the tight and smooth appearance we see here)

 

[Hartinez]

A wedge cut will totally work on this species

Fortunately, most of the branches are either thin enough to move as needed or are already moving in the direction I need them!

 

[Hartinez]

Fortunately, most of the branches are either thin enough to move as needed or are already moving in the direction I need them!

@Peter44 I’m still an amateur when it comes to tree identification, but I def trust @parhamr .

 

[Hartinez]

Yes, I was wondering about the characteristics also. So what type of fir do you think it is? The fact that you brought it from 10,000 ft down to your level and it is living is pretty amazing also.

 

[Hartinez]

 

[0soyoung]

I agree with @parhamr, buds sure look like pseudotsuga buds and not abies. The leaves seem odd to me, but are arrayed around the stem, which is tsuga-like and not like abies that tend to come off the stem in a plane.

 

[parhamr]

The leaves seem odd to me, but are arrayed around the stem, which is tsuga-like and not like abies that tend to come off the stem in a plane

I’ve seen Rocky Mountain Pseudotsuga from Todd Schlafer and Randy Knight — the needle appearance and distribution is quite different from our Western Douglas-fir.

 

[Hartinez]

I’ve seen Rocky Mountain Pseudotsuga from Todd Schlafer and Randy Knight — the needle appearance and distribution is quite different from our Western Douglas-fir.

Yeah this one is from northern New Mexico. Near Tres Piedras, just south of the CO border. I collected 3 Englemann spruce at the same time. In this area the abundance of stunted trees is incredible.

 

[PiñonJ]

Yeah this one is from northern New Mexico. Near Tres Piedras, just south of the CO border. I collected 3 Englemann spruce at the same time. In this area the abundance of stunted trees is incredible.

Shhhhh....

 

[Hartinez]

Shhhhh....

I mean....

 

[Hartinez]

Styled this tree! Unfortunately I don’t have a good spot to phot my larger trees after a recent move. So I’ll just show a nice pic of all the healthy buds beginning to unfurl. Nice full tree pic coming soon.

 

[Colorado]

Bud break on these and on spruce is magical

 

[Hartinez]

Bud break on these and on spruce is magical

I was just telling my wife the same thing!

 

[PiñonJ]

Styled this tree! Unfortunately I don’t have a good spot to phot my larger trees after a recent move. So I’ll just show a nice pic of all the healthy buds beginning to unfurl. Nice full tree pic coming soon. View attachment 295486

Nice! Check out my photo of Dougy cone buds on The New Growth Thread. Post #107. I also have my Abies lasiocarpa buds on #117. I'll post my Engelmann, as well.

 

[Hartinez]

Nice! Check out my photo of Dougy cone buds on The New Growth Thread. Post #107. I also have my Abies lasiocarpa buds on #117. I'll post my Engelmann, as well.

Will do! As @Colorado said, spruce and other elongating species have such beautiful new growth.

 

[Hartinez]

Here it is. I’ll probably remove more off of the branch on the bottom right. I prefer the primary branch to be on the bottom left. Needs some tidying up, but that will be next styling session. I need the healthy buds to fill things in.

future branch removal. Give or take.

 

[Hartinez]