Christmas Tree Site and Species Selection

Species Selection

Douglas-fir

Scientific name: Pseudotsuga menziesii

Varieties and seed sources to know

• Coastal seed sources (west of Cascades) best for westside plantings to reduce disease infection

• Selected improved sources available from private and association seed orchards

Preferred sites and soils

• Well-drained to moderately well drained soils

• Valley floor to 2,000-foot elevations in coastal, Willamette Valley, and Cascade locations

• Seldom grown east of Cascades

Expected rotation length 5 to 7 years

Relative value at harvest Moderate

What growers like about this species

• Easy tree to grow

• Widely grown and culturing well understood

• Seedlings plentiful

• Relatively few pests

• Well-established markets

Problems to watch out for

• Market for this species slowly shrinking

• Keepability problems when shipped to markets that are notably colder or warmer than the tree’s growing site

• Must control Swiss needle cast for best quality trees

Noble fir

Scientific name: Abies procera

Varieties and seed sources to know

• Siletz River (OR) drainage and Mount St. Helens provenances traditionally used

• Growers often use own collections

• Improved sources available from Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association seed orchards

Preferred sites and soils

• Performs best on deep, well drained soils

• Ideal sites are east and north slopes above 1,000-foot elevation in western Oregon and Washington

• Seldom grown east of Cascades due to frequent winter injury

Expected rotation length 6 to 9 years

Relative value at harvest High

What growers like about this species

• High market value

• Best keepability of any species; ships easily to markets in other climates

• Market demand increasing

• Excellent table-top species

Problems to watch out for

• Tree has wide genetic variability

• More challenging to grow

• Significant pest problems include root disease, aphids, and needle blights

• Current-season needle necrosis problems on some valley sites

Nordmann fir

Scientific name: Abies nordmanniana

Varieties and seed sources to know

• Ambrolauri and Borshomi are popular yet slow-growing sources of seed located in the Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia, near the Caspian Sea

• Field testing is in process to evaluate performance

Preferred sites and soils

• Performs well on a variety of moderately to well-drained soils

• Any valley or upland site in western Oregon and Washington to 1,500-foot elevation or higher

• Eastside sites not well adapted

Expected rotation length 8 to 10 years

Relative value at harvest High

What growers like about this species

• Good species for U-cut market niche

• True fir that will grow on drier and wetter sites not suitable for grands or nobles

• Few pest problems

Problems to watch out for

• Slow-growing species during establishment

• High variability among seed sources

• Current shortage of seedlings

• Little experience growing this species in the Pacific Northwest

• Highly susceptible to frost damage in northern Idaho trials

• Deer damage can be severe

• Tends to grow “wide”

Turkish fir

Scientific name Abies bornmulleriana

Varieties and seed sources to know

• Several sources from northern Turkey near the Caspian Sea

• Little field testing done in Oregon and Washington to evaluate seed source performance

• One private seed orchard

Preferred sites and soils

• Performs well on a variety of moderately to well-drained soils

• Valley or upland sites in western Oregon and Washington to 1,500-foot elevation or higher

• Eastside sites not well adapted

Expected rotation length 7 to 10 years

Relative value at harvest High

What growers like about this species

• Faster growth than Nordmann fir

• Ability to grow on drier sites than grands or nobles

Problems to watch out for

• Keepability is more variable than noble fir’s

• Concerns about frost damage in frost-prone areas; 43 percent of trees in northern Idaho trials had frost damage

• Little experience growing this species

• Grows slowly the first few years after planting

• Deer can be a problem