bigcone Douglas-fir
Pseudotsuga macrocarpa · Pinaceae
bigcone Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa) is a perennial tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 5 and warmer, down to about -13°F.
At a glance
| Type | tree USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 75 ft USDA |
| Light | full-sun USDA |
| Water need | low USDA |
| Growth rate | moderate USDA |
| Soil pH | 5–7 USDA |
| Bloom | March–April USDA |
| Flower color | Yellow USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 5 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | canopy Derived |
| Nursery availability | Routinely Available USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It needs full sun. USDA rates it as having low water needs once established. Its drought tolerance is rated high. It will not tolerate waterlogged soil — USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance as none. It is recorded on soils from pH 5 to 7 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 5.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 75 ft, making it a large tree that will dominate its site. It grows at a moderate rate.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of March through April. Flowers are yellow.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, medium in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. Its fruit or seed heads are conspicuous, extending interest past flowering. Its active growth period is spring. USDA rates its lifespan as long.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 12 to 40 inches of annual precipitation. The low end of that band is genuinely arid, so it has a wide tolerance for dry country. It needs at least 200 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 30 inches. Fertility requirement: low — no feeding needed on ordinary garden soil.
Propagating it
Propagate it from seed, bare root and container stock. Seed needs cold stratification — a period of moist chilling — before it will germinate, so sow in autumn or chill it artificially before a spring sowing. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It does not spread vegetatively, so it will stay where you put it.
Resilience and wildlife
Its fire tolerance is rated low. Its growth form is recorded as single stem.
Role in a guild
Canopy. In a layered planting this is the tallest layer of a planting — it sets the light budget everything beneath it lives on. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Pseudotsuga
- Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii
- Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii
Similar role and hardiness
- Deodar cedar Cedrus deodara
- Port Orford cedar Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
- velvet ash Fraxinus velutina
- dawn redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides
- Fremont cottonwood Populus fremontii
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol PSMA, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, Bloom, Bloom end, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Type, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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