Balsam Fir

[Bowsnbucks]

Our camp planted about 10 balsam fir over a year ago just to see if they'll grow for us. We planted them on a gentle, north-facing slope at the edge of a logged area. They survived into their second year and seem to be growing well. New branches & shoots on 'em, so I guess they're establishing a root system. New to our property - hoping they take hold for more diversity. An experiment.

 

[SD51555]

It’s the primary natural conifer on my property. I like them. They also make fantastic fire starting wood.


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[BuckSutherland]

Balsam fir are dying at an alarming rate all across northern MN. Not sure about anywhere else. The big fires we had up in northern MN (St Louis county) this year were primarily fueled by large stands of freshly dead balsam. They are a great tree when they are alive. I have a few dozen left, but I expect them to all be dead within 5 years cause of disease.

 

[RGrizzzz]

Our camp planted about 10 balsam fir over a year ago just to see if they'll grow for us. We planted them on a gentle, north-facing slope at the edge of a logged area. They survived into their second year and seem to be growing well. New branches & shoots on 'em, so I guess they're establishing a root system. New to our property - hoping they take hold for more diversity. An experiment.

Protected from deer? Bare root? Plugs? What size?

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

Balsam fir are dying at an alarming rate all across northern MN. Not sure about anywhere else. The big fires we had up in northern MN (St Louis county) this year were primarily fueled by large stands of freshly dead balsam. They are a great tree when they are alive. I have a few dozen left, but I expect them to all be dead within 5 years cause of disease.

What kind of disease is killing them? They grow like weeds on my property.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Not sure what is happening in northern MN but eastern spruce budworm is a major bug pest in North America and really likes balsam fir along with the spruces. Serious outbreaks seem to occur every several decades and across Canada millions of acres can be impacted during the worst episodes.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Balsam fir are dying at an alarming rate all across northern MN. Not sure about anywhere else. The big fires we had up in northern MN (St Louis county) this year were primarily fueled by large stands of freshly dead balsam. They are a great tree when they are alive. I have a few dozen left, but I expect them to all be dead within 5 years cause of disease.

Same here in NW Mass. I have extensive spruce/fir/tamarack swamps and the balsam fir is not healthy. I don't think they are particularly long lived species to begin with...and a warming climate and the fact that I am already on the southern limit of its range I think are stressing them.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Protected from deer? Bare root? Plugs? What size?

Some are caged - some are not. They were all bare root seedlings about 8" to 10" tall. They get sun now, because we logged off the area to the south of where they're planted. Balsams were planted after the logging. They'll probably get shaded at some point in years ahead as maples, oaks, white pines, and birches get going. Not real concerned about shading so much, having seen thousands of balsam fir in shady woods in Maine when hunting there.

Sorry to hear some of you gents are losing balsams to disease or some insects. They're a beautiful tree. I took loads of pics of them while hunting in Maine. Limbs seem to grow in layers up the tree. Hopefully northern arboretums & silviculturists are saving seed for the future after disease has run its course.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Same here in NW Mass. I have extensive spruce/fir/tamarack swamps and the balsam fir is not healthy. I don't think they are particularly long lived species to begin with...and a warming climate and the fact that I am already on the southern limit of its range I think are stressing them.

On a recent episode of "This Old House" in Massachusetts, the landowners were advised to not plant any maples on their property, because the climate is getting too warm there to support planting new maples. They were told by a landscape nursery owner to choose from some southern tree species. - - - Scary when maples are being "heated-out" of New England.

The "hoax" is actually happening.

 

[ruskbucks]

My property is loaded with balsam. They are a tough tree and grow just fine under my oak/maple canopy. They provide alot of cover. They are one of the few trees that the deer won't touch on my land. I have been transplanting alot of them in my screen along the road. I have planted some at my house in SE WI and if you plant them in the open they can turn into beautiful full trees.

 

[SD51555]

Biggest problem I have is bucks and shade. The ones I have dying are in a pattern of dropping more and more of their lower branches until there’s just not enough left up top to do anything. I have lost all the 6-10' trees in my high traffic areas to buck rubs the past couple years. They killed over 20 around one food plot last year alone.

I’m doing lots of clearing to open the sky to new balsams and they take off like crazy. The ones that are dead or almost dead need to come down. I caught a video on YouTube about how to slow down the spruce budworm if they are in the area. The forester said to get rid of the dead and dying host trees to make some distance between healthy trees.

I’ve got enough dead ones to keep me in camp firewood for a year or two. I’ll get some down this winter and haul the wood in and burn the brush right away.


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[SD51555]

After reading this, it almost seems like the drought did more killing that anything. I've seen spruce budworm damage before, and I haven't seen them on my property. Years ago, I had planted some spruce in southern MN, and you could walk right up to the trees and see the worms all over and the naked stems where the worms ate all the needles.

We just ended a 5 year drought, and I'd argue we're still not out of the woods. I got some of my new water holes full this year for a little while, but my established water holes never filled and never held water. I think the groundwater is still far below where it was before the drought started.

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/assistance/backyard/treecare/forest_health/spruce-budworm-fact-sheet.pdf

 

[Natty Bumppo]

On a recent episode of "This Old House" in Massachusetts, the landowners were advised to not plant any maples on their property, because the climate is getting too warm there to support planting new maples. They were told by a landscape nursery owner to choose from some southern tree species. - - - Scary when maples are being "heated-out" of New England.

The "hoax" is actually happening.

Yes agree Bows. I had a 3 acre conifer stand clear cut two winters ago. My logger said EVERY single mature balsam fir he cut had some kind of base rot. I am now working with MASS DCR to get some of that area replanted with through a grant program and the forester recommended swamp white oaks and black gum???? I have never seen either growing anywhere around here in a lifetime spent in the Northeast big woods. To confirm I looked at a range map for both and neither are shown growing in my neck of the woods.

I asked the forester about this and he responded that it is now common practice to create management plans that reflect rising temperatures, changing climatic conditions, and growing zones that will eventually change.

 

[Teeder]

Enough of these oaks, I better start planting palm trees!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Yes agree Bows. I had a 3 acre conifer stand clear cut two winters ago. My logger said EVERY single mature balsam fir he cut had some kind of base rot. I am now working with MASS DCR to get some of that area replanted with through a grant program and the forester recommended swamp white oaks and black gum???? I have never seen either growing anywhere around here in a lifetime spent in the Northeast big woods. To confirm I looked at a range map for both and neither are shown growing in my neck of the woods.

I asked the forester about this and he responded that it is now common practice to create management plans that reflect rising temperatures, changing climatic conditions, and growing zones that will eventually change.

I believe those range maps for trees are going to change a lot. Around where we live, people often had white birch growing in their yards - as did we - ours gone now for about 15 years. But the winters are so mild anymore, and the summers so hot & dry, all the white birch are dead or on their last legs around here. Nurseries don't even sell them anymore, because white birch are trees that love cold. We just don't have cold weather for any length of time in the winter here anymore - maybe a few days of 15 to 20 degrees - but that's all. When I was young, winters were cold for months, with snow that lasted on the ground for most of the winters. We used to look forward to the first 40-degree day to let us know spring was on the way. Now 40 to 50 degrees is what most of our winters are like, & rarely any snow.

Our balsams at camp may not survive long-term, but they are worth a shot. I remember the sight and smell of them when I hunted in Maine - nothing quite like balsam.