Every year since we’ve been here on the NE corner of the Olympic Peninsula, we’ve chosen a living native tree as a Christmas Tree and planted it on our property after the holidays (as if we need more trees). Last year, we chose a Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). We never got around to planting it and it lived in a pot on our deck throughout the summer, so we’re using it again this year. Over the years, we’ve used a Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) which is not a good tree on which to hang ornaments of any weight, several Doug Firs, and several Shore Pines (Pinus contorta).
Last (and this) year’s Douglas Fir Tree
The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Snails, fish, insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located.
Top of Shore pine from 2010
Below, we’ll take a tour of our property to see how the trees of Christmases past have fared and talk about using a living tree.
It isn’t as easy as it seems it should be to find a native balled-in-burlap tree in the nurseries at Christmastime. There are lots of living trees, but most aren’t native species and are sold for their classic Christmas tree look. Most native trees are grown for landscaping and haven’t been pruned into the perfect shape. In fact, shore pines are often valued for their “interesting” growth patterns— the “contorta” in their name. So, step one is the challenge of shopping. During the short days around winter solstice, it’s often getting dark by the time we load up.
Loading up at the nursery — root ball first — Douglas fir (2011)
Living trees are, of course, heavy. To minimize the back-breaking effort needed, our tree barely makes it into the house. It spends its holiday in the entryway just inside the front door.
En route to house with dog escort
Living trees shouldn’t spend a long time in the warm and dry house. We usually bring ours in on Solstice and take it back out on January 2. The goal is then to plant it right away. Last year, we had trouble deciding where to plant a Doug Fir and it just stayed in its pot on the deck (again, not far from the front door). That was an advantage in keeping it alive since being there (sort of always in the way) reminded us to keep it watered during the dry summer months. We need to plant it this year, however, as its getting too big for its bucket.
Mr Watt, planting a shore pine (2010), with dog assist.
Let’s take a walk around and see how the trees have grown. Below is the result of our experiment with a Western hemlock. As I said, it was not a good tree for holding ornaments. But it is growing beautifully and is probably 20 feet tall now. It is planted on the north side of our property where it can grow as tall as it likes without eventually blocking the view of anything besides other trees. It occupies a space where a large Western redcedar fell. Western hemlocks can get very tall. There is one on the Olympic Peninsula that is over 170 feet tall.
Western Hemlock planted 2008, photo taken 2016
This is our 2011 Douglas fir now. The arrow is meant to help you see the tree for the forest behind. It is growing fast and nobody would mistake it for a lush Christmas tree any longer. It is on the east side of the property were it can happily join the forest. Douglas firs, of course, have the potential to get very large. There is one in the Quinault rain forest that is 280 feet tall. Ours appears to be striving for that, but has a ways to go.
Douglas fir planted 2011, photo taken 2016 (see skinny trunk at arrow, in front of larger trunk)
Shore pines in the PNW are on the short side. They are expected to grow only 30-50 feet tall. This is interesting because the variant known as Pinus contorta var. latfolia, or Lodgepole pine, grows straight and tall (over 100 feet). You can see this shore pine is taking its contorta seriously, having started a second leader branch since its days as a Christmas tree.
Shore pine planted 2012, photo taken 2016.
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