Tree of the day

WDH · July 20, 2019, 06:49:17 AM

Whoever owns it needs to clean out around it to "spruce" it up.

firefighter ontheside · July 20, 2019, 08:44:49 AM

I think I have seen these blue looking trees in Colorado.

LeeB · July 20, 2019, 09:18:34 AM

You can see one at the pig roast if you make it up there.

caveman · July 20, 2019, 12:48:45 PM

It did not feel as sharp or rigid as the blue variety that I recollect unloading off of semis when I moonlighted in the Christmas tree industry, delivering trees to lots all over Florida. I had kind of narrowed it down, right or wrong, between red or white. It did not smell like cat urine to me (I would have cut it down if it did). We do not see spruce very often so I will defer to the experts.

Don P · July 20, 2019, 02:12:09 PM

I'm no expert especially on these. There are or were some remnant colonies of red spruce and balsam fir as far south as Mt Mitchell, leftovers from the ice age. It is retreating from Mt Rogers and Whitetop here and I think it is probably gone from Mitchell by now.

The mountains in the western hemisphere run N-S where in the Eastern they tend to run E-W. During the ice ages trees could move south with the slowly changing temperatures. Here, a seed would fall and it would be warmer to the south and it would survive, things were good, the process reversed as the ice retreated and we kept quite a bit of diversity. On the highest peaks some of those Canadian trees remained stranded, only now beginning to fail as those peaks are warming up and in some cases getting more acid fogs. In Europe the seed falling to the south ran into a mountain climbing upward and so it was colder, the seed failed and the trees could not cross the icy peaks. They ended up with bupkus for diversity.

caveman · July 20, 2019, 11:12:16 PM

Based on the VT pictures and Firefigther's first hand account in addition to descriptions, it sure looks like a Blue Spruce (Picea pungens). Unless someone has a better option, that is what we will go with.

For those not familiar with spruce, the needles are four-sided and will roll between your fingers, unlike hemlock. The needles are also on woody pegs, called sterigma.

Southside · July 20, 2019, 11:27:47 PM

At least the blue ones don't smell like some tom cat peed on your shoes!!!

lxskllr · July 21, 2019, 06:04:20 AM

My first thought was blue spruce when I saw it. Doing an image search, I'd say red's ruled out. White's closer. but still looks like blue to me.

Spruce hasn't been doing well around here. I've had two die on my property, there's a few in decline on the farm, and driving around, it looks like they're stressed all over. I'm more surprised when I see one that looks perfect than I am seeing one turning brown.

caveman · July 21, 2019, 07:17:35 AM

I appreciate all who weighed in on yesterday's Blue Spruce. That one had me perplexed for quite some time.

Not too long ago someone asked about today's tree and some of its interesting attributes but I do not think we have used it in this particular thread. This is the only one I know of within 150 miles of my place. There was another at a City Park but it was cut down due to rot and I suppose it was considered a hazard since it was near a walking trail.

I did not take a picture of the tree's form as it was only 15' tall and not impressive at all.

LeeB · July 21, 2019, 07:31:19 AM

If you used the fibers to make fabric would it be rayon or cotton?

WDH · July 21, 2019, 08:04:00 AM

Remember that star shaped pith that I showed you?

caveman · July 21, 2019, 08:09:02 AM

I do now, thanks for the reminder. Flat petiole too. Each time I see them I get a hankering for collard greens even though they really do not closely resemble each other.

doc henderson · July 21, 2019, 09:04:27 AM

a very poplar tree in Ks. grow fast and only live a hundred years or so. after a storm we often have branches 24 inches across laying on the road and or yards. a softer and under appreciated wood.

firefighter ontheside · July 21, 2019, 10:20:41 AM

From my experience after over 30 years of skiing in CO, the native blue spruce aren't always as blue as the the ones we see planted in landscapes. They pick the bluest ones to use for that purpose. We see them here in the east as short, wide, pyramidal trees, but from the ski lift I see tall, narrow trees that are blue, but not as blue.

firefighter ontheside · July 21, 2019, 10:25:30 AM

When it "snows" here in the summer, it's because of today's tree. The fire truck engine bays get so much blown in that we have to use leaf blowers to blow it all out. I've yet to mill any, but I want to.

Ljohnsaw · July 21, 2019, 12:19:33 PM

No picture? You gotta show the deep furrowed bark on the big trees and the leaves that look a lot like aspen...

doc henderson · July 21, 2019, 12:27:11 PM

made this one into a cooler based on the design and discussion of the French Bassin.

caveman · July 21, 2019, 12:46:47 PM

The only time I have ever seen one of these trees producing the cotton looking substance surrounding the seed was a few years ago while we were in Oklahoma at the FFA/4H National Land Judging Contest. We had a few hours to kill after leaving the hotel and before boarding our flight so the students with us wanted to stop by a hot rod shop. There was one of these trees nearby that was littering the area.

Some of you may recognize this truck.

btulloh · July 21, 2019, 12:55:01 PM

Nice truck. Did you meet the owner?

Jack S · July 21, 2019, 01:03:39 PM

In June every year we were and they probably still are cleaning the air cooled ac condensers almost daily at my old job at Cornell university. it would be like a 1/2 thick blanket at times. Yep somedays looked like a snow storm. dang ol cwood trees anyway. Jack

Woodpecker52 · July 21, 2019, 06:18:15 PM

They used to plant them in plantations along the Miss. River , Anderson Tully and some IP They grew the saplings and would take sections of the branches or maybe the trunks and cut them in 1 foot sections and just stick the section in the ground and in about 10 years you had pulp size trees, Any way they are a fast tree to grow but nasty with all the wind blown" cotton" seed fuzz but then again it is white on the roads and in the air from cotton harvest and ginning. I have as much desire to mill one as I do a mimosa.

caveman · July 21, 2019, 09:10:52 PM

I did not meet the owner of Farm Truck but the year before we were out there and the owner of Murder Nova, Big Chief and his entourage were at his shop. We stopped in since it was close to the airport and we had a little time. He spent quite a bit of time talking to the kids and us. We all had a good time. I don't have a lot of respect for celebrities just because of who they are and would rather just hang out with my friends but the young folks and my co-worker enjoyed it, got autographs and overall it was a good experience.