Engelmann Spruce

Tycoss

Chumono
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These are some of the most common subalpine trees in my area, and I have a few. I live where it’s much cooler, but we get summer temps in the 90s F. They are quite thirsty in hot, dry weather. They also hybridize freely with other related species, which can make identification even harder. Many of ours are crossed with p. Glauca.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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on the IL-WI border, a mile from ''da Lake''
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High elevation trees, be it spruce, fir, or pine, or larch, it is not so much the daytime high temperature that slowly kills them. It is the lack of cooling off at night. It slowly wears them down. If your temps stay above 78F or 25 C at night for more than 15 or so consecutive nights, that is when mountain trees suffer.
 

PeaceLoveBonsai

Chumono
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Franklin, TN
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High elevation trees, be it spruce, fir, or pine, or larch, it is not so much the daytime high temperature that slowly kills them. It is the lack of cooling off at night. It slowly wears them down. If your temps stay above 78F or 25 C at night for more than 15 or so consecutive nights, that is when mountain trees suffer.


How weird would it be to bring it into a cool basement at night?
 

0soyoung

Imperial Masterpiece
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Anacortes, WA (AHS heat zone 1)
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High elevation trees, be it spruce, fir, or pine, or larch, it is not so much the daytime high temperature that slowly kills them. It is the lack of cooling off at night. It slowly wears them down. If your temps stay above 78F or 25 C at night for more than 15 or so consecutive nights, that is when mountain trees suffer.
I've never come across such claims of needing nighttime cool-time in scholarly articles. What is (are) the mechanism(s)?

RuBisCo activity saturates at roughly 95F which means the tree burns more carbon than it fixes whenever it is warmer than about 95F. If this is most of the daylight hours, no net carbon fixation will occur during the day. At nighttime, trees always loose carbon simply because no photosynthesis is happening. How cool it is at night will only reduce metabolic rates and lessen the degree of carbon loss versus a warmer nighttime.
 

Carol 83

Flower Girl
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Timberwinds

https://www.timberwindsnursery.com/

They stock a bunch of specialty conifers and bunch of grafted pre-bonsai. Somewhat unusual that they would have this type of quality material. I'm hoping they get more since Cass is going out of biz.
Seriously, they are going out of business?? I was planning on going there tomorrow.:(
 

Colorado Josh

Yamadori
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I'm not sure if that is an englemann. If you grab the needles, does it hurt or is it just kind of sharp? If you pluck a needle off, is there a little peg? What angle is that peg? Are there tiny hairs at the base of the needles?
 

MACH5

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To the OP great piece of material! I love Engelmann spruces. Needles are relatively small and soft. You can get a highly refined look with them unlike Colorado spruces for example which tend to look coarse. They have thrived in my garden despite reports of them not doing well in the Northeast. I have left mine out in the bitter cold with no ill effects.

Care must be taken that they are not overly wired in one sitting. I have experinced heavy loss of branches as a result. I would recommend wiring of the main branches first, then letting the tree rest for a few months (or longer) and then come back with a more detailed wiring session.
 

River's Edge

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To the OP great piece of material! I love Engelmann spruces. Needles are relatively small and soft. You can get a highly refined look with them unlike Colorado spruces for example which tend to look coarse. They have thrived in my garden despite reports of them not doing well in the Northeast. I have left mine out in the bitter cold with no ill effects.

Care must be taken that they are not overly wired in one sitting. I have experinced heavy loss of branches as a result. I would recommend wiring of the main branches first, then letting the tree rest for a few months (or longer) and then come back with a more detailed wiring session.
Absolutely, great point to take care on the wiring, best in late fall rather than winter!. The Ezo spruce acts the same way, prefers to be dealt with in short stages with rest between rather than long work sessions.
 

River's Edge

Masterpiece
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High elevation trees, be it spruce, fir, or pine, or larch, it is not so much the daytime high temperature that slowly kills them. It is the lack of cooling off at night. It slowly wears them down. If your temps stay above 78F or 25 C at night for more than 15 or so consecutive nights, that is when mountain trees suffer.
Makes me think of the Vancouver Island , Canadian Mountain hemlocks that spent several seasons at Boon's until their obvious decline in general health warranted a move north to the Portland area where they now flourish. Possibly connected to the lack of dormancy period.;)
 

hemi71cuda

Sapling
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Awesome tree! If you end up being nervous about your climate, I’d take it off your hands for double what you paid.
 
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