I was told that there were some Mt Hemlocks in an area not to far from me, so I went up to take a look. I have never collected Hemlocks or dealt with them, so not sure what they look like in the wild. The pictures attached are of what I thought might be a Hemlock, but looks more like a Western Hemlock than a Mt Hemlock to me. The tree was small, 20" tall and about the same in width. It was pretty leggy like the branch shown with a number of branches. The needles go all the way around the stem and have no bloom. Needles are about 3/8"-5/8" long. Elevation about 6500'. Does this look like a Hemlock? Help appreciated!
Hemlock ID help please.
- Thread starter August44
- Start date
RKatzin
Omono
Looks like Western hemlock, but hard to tell. The stems on Mt hemlock are reddish brown, short and stubby, and the Western are yellowish brown and long and slender. Western hemlock bark is a reddish brown and shows red inside when cut. The Mt has gray to dark brown bark. Hope that helps you figure which you have.
The bark is gray/brown and little lumps all over it. No red when scored or cut...green there. When pruning, I was told one always has to leave some needles on the branch you are cutting off. Is that correct? They do not bud back on trunks or branches at all? Thanks for help.
caffeinated
Mame
In my experience they'll seldomly backbud on a branch WITH needles on it and I've never seen backbudding on the trunk. I have only worked with one of each (still happily growing) mountain and western hemlock though.
Deep Sea Diver
Masterpiece
Bark on youngsters is hard to tell…. however…
Looks like Western to me, yet a bit small. Mountain hemlocks have similar sized needles in a formation that looks like a thousand starbursts when viewed from above. Here’s a photo of one we worked on in Feb. I also have worked them in Oct/Nov.
Westerns have multiple sized needles under an inch, arranged in what looks like this ranks when viewed from above. Sorry I guess I don’t have a photo of the Western we worked on last winter.
Not the way to prune back either. You can only prune back to a bit before a bud and expect new growth The buds are tiny, arrayed down the small branches and you often won’t see them well until later in the year…
Cheers
DSD sends
Looks like Western to me, yet a bit small. Mountain hemlocks have similar sized needles in a formation that looks like a thousand starbursts when viewed from above. Here’s a photo of one we worked on in Feb. I also have worked them in Oct/Nov.
Westerns have multiple sized needles under an inch, arranged in what looks like this ranks when viewed from above. Sorry I guess I don’t have a photo of the Western we worked on last winter.
Not the way to prune back either. You can only prune back to a bit before a bud and expect new growth The buds are tiny, arrayed down the small branches and you often won’t see them well until later in the year…
Cheers
DSD sends
Cruiser
Chumono
Your samples show features common to both western and mountain hemlocks. I see what you mean about the needles radiating around the stems. There’s also the two ranked growth as well.
A weird way I use to tell them apart is to smell the crushed needles. Mt hemlocks have a more pickle-y smell (maybe dill?)
If there were cones from mature trees
nearby that would be a helpful clue. Mt hemlock cones are much larger and oblong..
If I had to pick one, id say mountain. 6500’ is pretty high up, where they like it.
A weird way I use to tell them apart is to smell the crushed needles. Mt hemlocks have a more pickle-y smell (maybe dill?)
If there were cones from mature trees
nearby that would be a helpful clue. Mt hemlock cones are much larger and oblong..
If I had to pick one, id say mountain. 6500’ is pretty high up, where they like it.
Attachments
Last edited:
Deep Sea Diver
Masterpiece
Not sure dip they cross viably, some conifers do, like Silver and Noble firs.
Elevation, you are correct, yet that would be near the top of their range. Mountain Hemlocks can easily be found at Stevens Pass, The normally range is usually listed at about 4000 to 7000. I’ve seem them lower occasionally, but I think these are outliers.
best
DSD sends
Elevation, you are correct, yet that would be near the top of their range. Mountain Hemlocks can easily be found at Stevens Pass, The normally range is usually listed at about 4000 to 7000. I’ve seem them lower occasionally, but I think these are outliers.
best
DSD sends
Cruiser
Chumono
There is also the possibility that your tree is a fir, hard to say without seeing the sample in person. Sometimes smaller weaker firs appear more spindly and the branches have smaller needles. Do the needles smell citrusy/Christmasy? Were there resin blisters you could pop?
Deep Sea Diver
Masterpiece
In that case, check to see if the tip of each needle has a “notch” in the tip. If so, it’s a Fir.
cheers
DSD sends
cheers
DSD sends
That is a wonderful trees there. Did you collect it about that size. Very good job if you did!
No notch at the ends of needles. I did notice that the new growth has small white bloom at the outside of each needle with green in the middle
The needles do smell good, yes maybe Christmasy (that is not a real word me thinks)
PiñonJ
Omono
Your measurement of needle length sounds like Hemlock, but those photos look like Doug Fir. Can you get close-ups of buds?
Cruiser
Chumono
I didn’t think it was either, but since you brought it up, I checked. It actually is. I’ll be damned.
Christ·mas·sy
/ˈkrisməsē/
Adjective
- characteristic of or suitable for Christmas.
"we put the tree up really early because I think it's nice to have the house looking Christmassy"
Deep Sea Diver
Masterpiece
In that case Doug Firs are the only tree mentioned in this discussion that has pointy tipped buds.
Cheers
DSD sends
Cheers
DSD sends
I know Doug Firs and their pointed buds. No buds like that on this branch.
I would like to collect several Mt Hemlocks for bonsai, but don't want to bring them home and have them struggle in this climate and then die. I live in zone 5-6 with low humidity sometimes and sometimes 100 F in summers. I can and will shade in summers when we have crazy high heat, have a good watering schedule, but I am a little concerned about the humidity getting as low as it does in the summer and fall. I could put a drip tray with water in it under the Hemlocks, but don't want to have to babysit them all the time. Baker City elevation is 3465'. Advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
The variation in the precipitation between the driest and wettest months is 63 mm | 2 inch. During the year, the average temperatures vary by 25.9 °C | 46.6 °F.
The month with the highest relative humidity is December (77.70 %). The month with the lowest relative humidity is August (32.23 %).
The month with the highest number of rainy days is December (13.03 days). The month with the lowest number of rainy days is August (2.33 days).
Baker City are in the northern hemisphere.
Summer starts here at the end of June and ends in September. There are the months of summer: June, July, August, September.
WEATHER BY MONTH // WEATHER AVERAGES BAKER CITY
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Temperature °C (°F) | -3.9 °C (25) °F | -1.8 °C (28.7) °F | 2.3 °C (36.1) °F | 6.1 °C (42.9) °F | 11.3 °C (52.3) °F | 16 °C (60.8) °F | 22 °C (71.6) °F | 21.3 °C (70.3) °F | 16 °C (60.7) °F | 8.7 °C (47.7) °F | 1.5 °C (34.7) °F | -3.8 °C (25.1) °F |
| Min. Temperature °C (°F) | -6.4 °C (20.5) °F | -4.8 °C (23.4) °F | -1.6 °C (29.1) °F | 0.6 °C (33.1) °F | 4.6 °C (40.3) °F | 8.6 °C (47.4) °F | 13.3 °C (55.9) °F | 12.9 °C (55.3) °F | 9 °C (48.2) °F | 3.9 °C (39) °F | -1.6 °C (29.1) °F | -6.5 °C (20.3) °F |
| Max. Temperature °C (°F) | -0.4 °C (31.3) °F | 2.2 °C (35.9) °F | 7.3 °C (45.2) °F | 12.6 °C (54.7) °F | 18.5 °C (65.3) °F | 23.8 °C (74.8) °F | 30.5 °C (86.8) °F | 29.7 °C (85.4) °F | 24 °C (75.2) °F | 15.1 °C (59.2) °F | 5.8 °C (42.5) °F | -0.3 °C (31.5) °F |
| Precipitation / Rainfall mm (in) | 60 (2.4) | 46 (1.8) | 48 (1.9) | 45 (1.8) | 46 (1.8) | 27 (1.1) | 9 (0.4) | 10 (0.4) | 13 (0.5) | 28 (1.1) | 49 (1.9) | 72 (2.8) |
| Humidity(%) | 77% | 76% | 69% | 59% | 53% | 45% | 33% | 32% | 40% | 57% | 70% | 78% |
| Rainy days (d) | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| avg. Sun hours (hours) | 5.0 | 6.2 | 8.2 | 10.0 | 11.6 | 12.7 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 10.7 | 8.2 | 6.2 | 4.5 |
The month with the highest relative humidity is December (77.70 %). The month with the lowest relative humidity is August (32.23 %).
The month with the highest number of rainy days is December (13.03 days). The month with the lowest number of rainy days is August (2.33 days).
Baker City are in the northern hemisphere.
Summer starts here at the end of June and ends in September. There are the months of summer: June, July, August, September.
hinmo24t
Masterpiece
damn^^ !!!!!
ghues
Omono
It could be a hybrid between the two but regardless.......they may survive but maybe not thrive. If you can give it special conditions you might get lucky.
Mike Westervelt
Shohin
Looks like grand fir to me, hemlock smells lemony, fir smells xmasy
Deep Sea Diver
Masterpiece
All true firs have notches on the needle tips.
Grand Firs have needles in a horizontal plane down the branch in two ranks, sometimes a bit silver on the bottom.
Best
DSD sends
Grand Firs have needles in a horizontal plane down the branch in two ranks, sometimes a bit silver on the bottom.
Best
DSD sends
Similar threads
