Product Review

Douglas-fir trees, which are also called red firs, Oregon pines, and Douglas spruce, are neither true fir trees nor pines nor spruces! The scientific genus name Pseudo tsuga means "false hemlock," alluding to another kind of tree that Douglas-firs are similar too. Douglas-firs are evergreen trees, meaning that they keep their needle-like leaves year round. There are two varieties of this species, coast Douglas-fir and Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, which are differentiated by their habitats, growth rates, and physical characteristics. When Douglas-firs grow in dense forests, they self-prune their lower branches so that the conical crown starts many stories above the ground. Trees growing in open habitat, especially younger trees, have branches much closer to the ground.