Would Sitka spruce grow well on the east coast or someplace in the New England area?

[jermedia]

Any thoughts on growing this tree on the east coast for spar lumber, or if it's been tried? Thanks!

[jermedia]

Any thoughts on growing this tree on the east coast for spar lumber, or if it's been tried? Thanks!

[jermedia]

Any thoughts on growing this tree on the east coast for spar lumber, or if it's been tried? Thanks!

[Alan D. Hyde]

I suspect that the Pacific Marine climate to which it is native is required for Sitka to thrive.

However, perhaps with the right artificial watering methods, such a climate could be replicated in another region.

Someone here will know more than I do about this, I'm confident...

Alan

[Alan D. Hyde]

I suspect that the Pacific Marine climate to which it is native is required for Sitka to thrive.

However, perhaps with the right artificial watering methods, such a climate could be replicated in another region.

Someone here will know more than I do about this, I'm confident...

Alan

[Alan D. Hyde]

I suspect that the Pacific Marine climate to which it is native is required for Sitka to thrive.

However, perhaps with the right artificial watering methods, such a climate could be replicated in another region.

Someone here will know more than I do about this, I'm confident...

Alan

[Garrett Lowell]

In January, I contacted Virginia Tech's arborist via e-mail to ask the same question about planting Giant Redwood trees here in VA. They told me the tree will grow, but will not reach anywhere near the normal size, and that it's shape and some of the minor characteristics would be different. They may be able to answer your questions.

Contact them here:
Dr. John R. Seiler:
jseiler@vt.edu
Dr. John A. Peterson:
jopeters@vt.edu

[Jack Heinlen]

I think Alan's right. It needs warmer and wetter would be my guess. Not sure though.

Ya know, Eastern Spruce is a damn good spar material, especially for smaller boats. I don't see it marketed much, and as has been discussed before, unless you know what you're looking for it can be difficult to pick it out of the hemfir at the lumber yard. Plus, it's KD.

Anyone know of sawmills here in the NE that saw spruce for spars?

[Garrett Lowell]

In January, I contacted Virginia Tech's arborist via e-mail to ask the same question about planting Giant Redwood trees here in VA. They told me the tree will grow, but will not reach anywhere near the normal size, and that it's shape and some of the minor characteristics would be different. They may be able to answer your questions.

Contact them here:
Dr. John R. Seiler:
jseiler@vt.edu
Dr. John A. Peterson:
jopeters@vt.edu

[Jack Heinlen]

I think Alan's right. It needs warmer and wetter would be my guess. Not sure though.

Ya know, Eastern Spruce is a damn good spar material, especially for smaller boats. I don't see it marketed much, and as has been discussed before, unless you know what you're looking for it can be difficult to pick it out of the hemfir at the lumber yard. Plus, it's KD.

Anyone know of sawmills here in the NE that saw spruce for spars?

[Garrett Lowell]

In January, I contacted Virginia Tech's arborist via e-mail to ask the same question about planting Giant Redwood trees here in VA. They told me the tree will grow, but will not reach anywhere near the normal size, and that it's shape and some of the minor characteristics would be different. They may be able to answer your questions.

Contact them here:
Dr. John R. Seiler:
jseiler@vt.edu
Dr. John A. Peterson:
jopeters@vt.edu

[Jack Heinlen]

I think Alan's right. It needs warmer and wetter would be my guess. Not sure though.

Ya know, Eastern Spruce is a damn good spar material, especially for smaller boats. I don't see it marketed much, and as has been discussed before, unless you know what you're looking for it can be difficult to pick it out of the hemfir at the lumber yard. Plus, it's KD.

Anyone know of sawmills here in the NE that saw spruce for spars?

[reddog]

Now this is interesting.On the property formerly owned by my wifes' grandmother there are a number of large,straight conifers not familiar to me.I asked her grandmother what they were and she replied Sitka spruce that had been planted some time back.I never did confirm this but they were about 60 feet in height with no branches for at least30 ft.Around 18" dia. at the butts.Very fine looking trees.
The property has passed out of her family but the trees remain.
Earl

[reddog]

Now this is interesting.On the property formerly owned by my wifes' grandmother there are a number of large,straight conifers not familiar to me.I asked her grandmother what they were and she replied Sitka spruce that had been planted some time back.I never did confirm this but they were about 60 feet in height with no branches for at least30 ft.Around 18" dia. at the butts.Very fine looking trees.
The property has passed out of her family but the trees remain.
Earl

[reddog]

Now this is interesting.On the property formerly owned by my wifes' grandmother there are a number of large,straight conifers not familiar to me.I asked her grandmother what they were and she replied Sitka spruce that had been planted some time back.I never did confirm this but they were about 60 feet in height with no branches for at least30 ft.Around 18" dia. at the butts.Very fine looking trees.
The property has passed out of her family but the trees remain.
Earl

[TomRobb]

Water daily for 300 years? :D

[TomRobb]

Water daily for 300 years? :D

[TomRobb]

Water daily for 300 years? :D

[Bruce Hooke]

Another point to consider here is that according to The Encyclopedia of Wood the strength numbers for Sitka Spruce are not much better than the strength numbers for Red Spruce. I think a large part of the reason why Sitka is so much preferred for spars (and aircraft parts) is that it is available in long, clear lengths, which is, of course, a function of it being cut from huge, old-growth trees. So, even if you could get Sitka to grow here on the East Coast there wouldn't be much point in it from a lumber perspective unless you could get it to grow for a few hundred years and unless you were planting it for your great great great great great great grandchildren!

The cool, damp climate of the Maine, New Brunswich and Nova Scotia coast would probably be the most favorable climate since it comes closer to matching the coastal Pacific-Northwest climate than interior and coastal southern New England does.

If I remember correctly Douglas Fir is the standard plantation softwood grown in Scotland, so these species certainly can grow outside their native ranges. Over there I think it is called Oregon Pine.

[Bruce Hooke]

Another point to consider here is that according to The Encyclopedia of Wood the strength numbers for Sitka Spruce are not much better than the strength numbers for Red Spruce. I think a large part of the reason why Sitka is so much preferred for spars (and aircraft parts) is that it is available in long, clear lengths, which is, of course, a function of it being cut from huge, old-growth trees. So, even if you could get Sitka to grow here on the East Coast there wouldn't be much point in it from a lumber perspective unless you could get it to grow for a few hundred years and unless you were planting it for your great great great great great great grandchildren!

The cool, damp climate of the Maine, New Brunswich and Nova Scotia coast would probably be the most favorable climate since it comes closer to matching the coastal Pacific-Northwest climate than interior and coastal southern New England does.

If I remember correctly Douglas Fir is the standard plantation softwood grown in Scotland, so these species certainly can grow outside their native ranges. Over there I think it is called Oregon Pine.

[Bruce Hooke]

Another point to consider here is that according to The Encyclopedia of Wood the strength numbers for Sitka Spruce are not much better than the strength numbers for Red Spruce. I think a large part of the reason why Sitka is so much preferred for spars (and aircraft parts) is that it is available in long, clear lengths, which is, of course, a function of it being cut from huge, old-growth trees. So, even if you could get Sitka to grow here on the East Coast there wouldn't be much point in it from a lumber perspective unless you could get it to grow for a few hundred years and unless you were planting it for your great great great great great great grandchildren!

The cool, damp climate of the Maine, New Brunswich and Nova Scotia coast would probably be the most favorable climate since it comes closer to matching the coastal Pacific-Northwest climate than interior and coastal southern New England does.

If I remember correctly Douglas Fir is the standard plantation softwood grown in Scotland, so these species certainly can grow outside their native ranges. Over there I think it is called Oregon Pine.

[Eric Sea Frog]

It's growing in Brittany (West of France), and in the Centre Mountains (not so wet there).
To which heigths I don't know.

[Eric Sea Frog]

It's growing in Brittany (West of France), and in the Centre Mountains (not so wet there).
To which heigths I don't know.

[Eric Sea Frog]

It's growing in Brittany (West of France), and in the Centre Mountains (not so wet there).
To which heigths I don't know.

[Wild Wassa]

Bruce H, Douglas Fir is called Oregon in Oz as well. I couldn't buy Douglas Fir when I went looking for it. I gave up and bought Oregon instead. redface.gif Then I found out that DF is Oregon. I still laugh about this. My two colleagues are sick of this story. :D

Warren.

ps, What threw me, was the fact that, all the old DF, CBs mostly, the annular rings were 2 to the millimetre, with the Oregon that I saw, the rings were about 1 or 2 cms apart. I know now.

[ 10-09-2002, 04:53 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Wild Wassa]

Bruce H, Douglas Fir is called Oregon in Oz as well. I couldn't buy Douglas Fir when I went looking for it. I gave up and bought Oregon instead. redface.gif Then I found out that DF is Oregon. I still laugh about this. My two colleagues are sick of this story. :D

Warren.

ps, What threw me, was the fact that, all the old DF, CBs mostly, the annular rings were 2 to the millimetre, with the Oregon that I saw, the rings were about 1 or 2 cms apart. I know now.

[ 10-09-2002, 04:53 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Wild Wassa]

Bruce H, Douglas Fir is called Oregon in Oz as well. I couldn't buy Douglas Fir when I went looking for it. I gave up and bought Oregon instead. redface.gif Then I found out that DF is Oregon. I still laugh about this. My two colleagues are sick of this story. :D

Warren.

ps, What threw me, was the fact that, all the old DF, CBs mostly, the annular rings were 2 to the millimetre, with the Oregon that I saw, the rings were about 1 or 2 cms apart. I know now.

[ 10-09-2002, 04:53 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Bruce Hooke]

Warren -- I got a similar laugh when I was in Cape Town South Africa and we visited a historic church. One the things they were especially proud of was the huge, beautiful doors of "Oregon Pine," which the guide knew was called Douglas Fir in the US. Here in the US Douglas Fir is rarely used in places where it will be seen, almost all of it, and we do use a lot of it here, goes into structural applications. The experience in Cape Town made me realize that Douglas Fir could actually be quite nice looking wood and I later made a dinning room table from it...

Sadly, as you have seen from the growth rings, old growth Douglas Fir is very hard to find now, and most of the new stuff is grown ridiculously fast...

[Bruce Hooke]

Warren -- I got a similar laugh when I was in Cape Town South Africa and we visited a historic church. One the things they were especially proud of was the huge, beautiful doors of "Oregon Pine," which the guide knew was called Douglas Fir in the US. Here in the US Douglas Fir is rarely used in places where it will be seen, almost all of it, and we do use a lot of it here, goes into structural applications. The experience in Cape Town made me realize that Douglas Fir could actually be quite nice looking wood and I later made a dinning room table from it...

Sadly, as you have seen from the growth rings, old growth Douglas Fir is very hard to find now, and most of the new stuff is grown ridiculously fast...

[Bruce Hooke]

Warren -- I got a similar laugh when I was in Cape Town South Africa and we visited a historic church. One the things they were especially proud of was the huge, beautiful doors of "Oregon Pine," which the guide knew was called Douglas Fir in the US. Here in the US Douglas Fir is rarely used in places where it will be seen, almost all of it, and we do use a lot of it here, goes into structural applications. The experience in Cape Town made me realize that Douglas Fir could actually be quite nice looking wood and I later made a dinning room table from it...

Sadly, as you have seen from the growth rings, old growth Douglas Fir is very hard to find now, and most of the new stuff is grown ridiculously fast...