Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir
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III-153 Rocky Mountain Environmental Requirements Douglas-fir Soils Soil Texture - Prefers well-drained, moist loams. (Pseudotsuga menziesii Soil pH - 5.5 to 7.5. var. glauca) Windbreak Suitability Group - 1, 3.
Cold Hardiness General Description USDA Zone 3. A large forest tree native to the Rocky Mountains. Very Water important tree in the lumber industry. Merits further Prefers adequate moisture to do well. Does not withstand testing for adaptability to the Northern Plains environ- ponding. Planting near Bowman, North Dakota, has ment. The largest tree in North Dakota is 69 feet tall with survived drought of the 1980s. a canopy spread of 24 feet. Light Leaves and Buds Full sun. Bud Arrangement - Whorls. Bud Color - Shining chestnut brown, mostly resinous Uses at base. Bud Size - 1/2 inch long, ovoid-conical, apex sharp- Conservation/Windbreaks pointed, imbricate. Medium to tall conifer for farmstead windbreaks. Leaf Type and Shape - Flat needles arranged spirally, Hardy seed sources currently under evaluation. attached to twigs singly. Wildlife Leaf Margins - Straight, smooth. Red grouse, crossbill, pine siskin, mice and shrews utilize Leaf Surface - Smooth, flattened. seeds. Antelope, deer, elk, mountain goats, and mountain Leaf Length - 1 to 1½ inches. sheep feed on twigs and foliage. Leaf Width - Needles. Agroforestry Products Leaf Color - Dark blue-green above, with 2 white bands Wood - Joinery, plywood, flooring, sleepers, construction of stomata beneath. lumber. Important Christmas tree since it retains its Flowers and Fruits needles better than true firs and spruce. Flower Type - Monoecious, on two year old wood. Medicinal - Used to treat mouth sores. Flower Color - Male flowers, rose-red. Urban/Recreational Fruit Type - Oval cones, pendulous, 2 to 4 inches long, Useful for specimen, group, and mass plantings. readily identified by their three-lobed bracts which extend beyond the cone scales. Cultivated Varieties Fruit Color - Purplish-green cones ripen to brown, Upright Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii ‘Fastigiata’) - seed color brown. A narrow, erect selection. Nice specimen in McCrory Gardens, SDSU, Brookings, South Dakota. Form Growth Habit - Pyramidal, with stiff straight branches; Related Species the lower drooping, the upper ascending, dense in youth becoming open with age. Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) Texture - Medium, summer and winter. Black Hills Spruce (Picea glauca var. densata) Crown Height - 40 to 70 feet. Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens) Crown Width - 20 to 30 feet. White Fir (Abies concolor) Bark Color - Yellowish-green initially becoming gray to brown. On young stems smooth except for resin blisters; Pests mature trunks divided into thick reddish-brown ridges No major pests in North Dakota. separated by deep irregular fissures, bark becomes thick. Root System - Fibrous spreading.
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