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| ## douglas fir {#douglas-fir .Title-Header}                           |
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| *Pseudotsuga menziesii* (Mirbel) Franco                               |
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| Plant Symbol = PSME                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="3.4375in" height="2.2916666666666665in"}
J.S. Peterson

USDA NRCS NPDC

@ PLANTS

##### Uses {#uses .Header-3}

*Wood Products*: This tree's lumber is excellent for construction. A
variety of grades of veneer are manufactured which are generally used
for construction. Pulp is generally is used for Kraft paper. Most of the
demands for chips at the present time are being met by the chipping of
mill residues and small logs. Douglas-fir is excellent for poles and
piling if treated. The wood is suitable for fuel. With treatment,
Douglas-fir posts are quite durable.

*Christmas Trees*: In the cultured and natural state, the Douglas-fir
makes an excellent Christmas tree. It responds well to all Christmas
tree cultural practices.

*Wildlife*: The seed of Douglas-fir is an important food for chickadees,
red crossbill, finches (house and purple), evening grosbeak, Douglas
squirrel, Townsend chipmunk, deer, meadow mice, shrews, and many other
birds and mammals.

The needles are an important source of food of blue and spruce grouses.
Mountain beaver, deer, elk, and rabbits eat foliage and twigs within
their reach. Bears may feed on new sapwood and inner bark in the spring
and early summer.

*Erosion Control and Windbreaks*: Although it is seldom used,
Douglas-fir is an excellent tree for windbreaks on adapted soils. It is
also excellent for restoring eroded lands, watersheds, and strip-mined
areas.

*Recreation*: It is an excellent tree for recreation purposes. It is
windfirm on all but the wet and very shallow soils and is generally
quite free from the killing attacks of insects and disease in park
conditions. There is a good response to properly applied pruning,
shearing, and thinning.

##### Status {#status .Header-3}

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

##### Description {#description .Header-3}

*Pseudotsuga menziesii*, Douglas-fir, is one of the world\'s most
important and valuable trees. The needles persist up to 8 years and are
scattered singly over the twigs. Needle length ranges from 3/4 to 1 inch
and the width is approximately 1/16 inch. The bark on young stands is
dark gray-brown with resin blisters. Later the bark becomes thick,
reddish-brown, and is divided by deep irregular fissures. The cones are
3 to 4 inches long and are easily identified by the three pointed bracts
(modified leaves) which are longer than the cone scales. On the average
a heavy seed crop can be expected every 5 to 7 years. During this
period, there usually is at least 1 crop failure.

##### Adaptation and Distribution {#adaptation-and-distribution .Header-3}

Douglas-fir needs excellent drainage. In the higher elevations of the
West that receive snow and in the lower foothills that have moderately
cold winters and hot summers, Douglas-fir requires moderate summer
watering, generally 1-4 times per month depending upon the absorption
rate and water retention capacity of the soil. It does best in full or
part-shade

Douglas-fir is adapted to a wide variety of soils in terms of texture,
but reaches its best development on clay loams, silty clay loams, and
silt loams which are deep, moist, and well drained. Douglas-fir will not
thrive on poorly drained soils with impervious layers near the surface.
It is drought-tolerant and, with few exceptions, will naturally reforest
droughty sites where precipitation averages 16 inches or more.

Douglas-fir is distributed primarily throughout the West. For a current
distribution map, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species
on the PLANTS Web site.

##### Establishment {#establishment .Header-3}

Seedlings ranging from 2 year old bareroot plants to materials that have
been field-grown for 2 years and then in containers for 2 years are used
for planting stock and are usually available from state or private
nurseries. There has been a general trend to use the larger planting
stock to improve the chance of survival with competing vegetation.
Direct seeding can be successful. Natural restocking is common on the
lower sites; but on the higher sites competing vegetation often limits
reforestation, and site preparation and brush control may be necessary.

##### Management {#management .Header-3}

*Thinning*: Douglas-fir responds well to thinning at an early age or
until the trees reach pole and small sawlog size. The method of thinning
becomes more important in the sawlog stands. For the thinning response
to be good and the danger from tipover and breakage low, care should be
taken to leave the stand in a thrifty condition. During most thinning
operations, it is desirable to remove some dominant, codominant,
intermediate, and suppressed trees. Do not over-cut the trees in the
dominant and codominant classes.

*Pruning*: Trees prune well and heal over quickly if the stands are
young and less than 10 inches in diameter.

*Harvest Cut*: As a rule, the clear-cut method is used. However, the
shelterwood method is beginning to be used in the southern and interior
portions of its range. This applies especially to hot, dry slopes and
droughty soils.

##### Pests and Potential Problems {#pests-and-potential-problems .Header-3}

Several insects attack Douglas-fir, but the Douglas-fir beetle is the
most important. Outbreaks usually occur in windthrown, fire-killed or
felled timber. Timber in any of the conditions listed should be removed
as quickly as possible. Periodic outbreaks of Douglas-fir tussock moths
may cause serious damage.

Heart and root rot can be serious diseases in Douglas-fir stands. The
recommended cultural practice for these rots is to remove dead and
infected trees as soon as possible.

Heavy populations of bear, deer, elk, rabbits, mice, and mountain beaver
can be harmful to young stands. These animals can be managed to reduce
the numbers to a sustained carrying capacity. Nursery stock should be
treated with repellent before it is planted. Dense stands of Douglas-fir
provide little or no feed for deer and elk, but do provide excellent
cover.

##### Prepared By & Species Coordinator:  {#prepared-by-species-coordinator .Header-3}

USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program

##### 

##### Edited: 05Feb2002 JLK; 060809 jsp {#edited-05feb2002-jlk-060809-jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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