Conifers

Average Seedling Height By Age:

1 year old - 10-16"
2 years old - 12-22"
3 years old -16-26"

Many of our species are produced from MITOSIS seed. MITOSIS is the Montana Interagency Tree and Shrub Improvement Study. The study was a cooperative effort to evaluate the performance of various species of plants in established Montana plantings. The selected plantings were evaluated for over ten years and the best performing plants were selected for seed orchard establishment at the nursery.

We use this seed source whenever possible. These selections perform well in many of Eastern Montana's variable and harsh climates. Although these plants have not been tested in every environment, MITOSIS selections are some of the best plant materials available for use in Montana. The selections are proven to survive in Montana because they were evaluated in Montana not other Northern Great Plains states.

Douglas Fir for East of Divide

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Growth Rate	Slow	Cold Hardiness	Medium
20-Year Height	12'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Poor
Elevation Range	4,000 to 7,000'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	14"
Wildlife Value	Good nesting cover, fair food	Pests	Bark beetles, spruce budworm, tussock moth
Comments	Drought tolerant once established but grows best on good sites. Use for reforestation and windbreaks.

Douglas Fir for West of Divide

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Growth Rate	Moderate	Cold Hardiness	Medium
20-Year Height	15'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Poor
Elevation Range	3,500 to 7,000'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	14"
Wildlife Value	Good nesting cover, fair food	Pests	Bark beetles, spruce budworm, tussock moth
Comments	Drought tolerant once established but grows best on good sites. Use for reforestation and windbreaks.

Juniper, Rocky Mountain

Juniperus scopulorum

Growth Rate	Moderate	Cold Hardiness	High
20-Year Height	12'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Good
Elevation Range	Up to 6,500'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	6-12'	Minimum Annual Precip.	10"
Wildlife Value	Good nesting, food and cover for birds and mammals	Pests	Cedar apple rust
Comments	Excellent in wildlife plantings. Very drought and alkali tolerant. Transplants well. Genetically selected seed for cold hardiness and faster growth.

Larch, Western

Larix occidentalis

Growth Rate	Moderate-fast	Cold Hardiness	Medium
20-Year Height	18'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Poor
Elevation Range	3,000-7,000'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	15"
Wildlife Value	Fair nesting and food, poor cover and browse	Pests	Larch casebearer, needle diseases, larch sawfly
Comments	Prevalent in western Montana on mid elevation slopes. Rapid growth on good sites once established. Commonly used for reforestation.

Pine, Austrian

Pinus nigra

Growth Rate	Moderate-fast	Cold Hardiness	Medium
20-Year Height	17'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Fair
Elevation Range	Up to 5,000'	Life Span	60+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	12"
Wildlife Value	Fair nesting and food, poor cover and browse	Pests	Pine tip moths, Dothistroma needlecast
Comments	A good tree for windbreaks, will not drop lower branches. Adapts well to many soil types.

Pine, Limber

Pinus flexilis

Growth Rate	Slow	Cold Hardiness	High
20-Year Height	8'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Poor
Elevation Range	4,000-7,000	Life Span	Poor
Windbreak Spacing	6-12'	Minimum Annual Precip.	10"
Wildlife Value	Large seeds are excellent food source. Good nesting cover.	Pests	White pine blister rust
Comments	Very hardy and slow growing. Use where other evergreens can't survive. Elevations will be lower west of the Divide.

Pine, Lodgepole

Pinus contorta var. latifolia

Growth Rate	Moderate	Cold Hardiness	High
20-Year Height	17'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Fair
Elevation Range	4,000-8500'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	14"
Wildlife Value	Good nesting and thermal cover	Pests	Dwarf mistletoe, pine beetle, western gall rust, commandra rust
Comments	Prevalent in western Montana on mid elevation slopes. Rapid growth on good sites once established. Commonly used for reforestation.

Pine, Ponderosa for East of Divide

Pinus ponderosa

Growth Rate	Moderate	Cold Hardiness	Medium
20-Year Height	15'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Fair
Elevation Range	3,000-6,000'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	15"
Wildlife Value	Birds and small mammals eat seeds. Provides some cover.	Pests	Western gall rust, commandra rust, pine beetles.
Comments	The selected seed source is adapted to eastern Montana. Drought tolerant. Wide usage for windbreaks and reforestation.

Pine, Ponderosa for West of Divide

Pinus ponderosa

Growth Rate	Moderate-fast	Cold Hardiness	Medium
20-Year Height	17'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Fair
Elevation Range	Up to 6,000'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	12"
Wildlife Value	Birds and small mammals eat seeds. Provides some cover.	Pests	Western gall rust, commandra rust, pine beetles.
Comments	Great tree for reforestation as well as windbreaks. Choose seed source and elevations that best fit planting site. Drought tolerant.

Pine, Scotch

Pinus sylvestris

Growth Rate	Moderate	Cold Hardiness	Medium
20-Year Height	17'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Fair
Elevation Range	Up to 5,000'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	12"
Wildlife Value	Provides nesting and thermal cover	Pests	Bark beetles, not significant
Comments	Adapts well to lower elevation sites. Fast growing conifer. Uses - Christmas trees, windbreaks.

Pine, Western White

Pinus monticola

Growth Rate	Moderate	Cold Hardiness	Medium
20-Year Height	18'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Poor
Elevation Range	3,000-6,000'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-12'	Minimum Annual Precip.	14"
Wildlife Value	Birds and small mammals eat seeds. Provides some cover.	Pests	White Pine Blister Rust but we only grow from blister rust resistant seed.
Comments	Once common in far Western Montana but many killed by Blister Rust. Our seed source is Blister Rust resistant. A beautiful five needle pine.

Red cedar, Western

Thuja plicata

Growth Rate	Moderate	Cold Hardiness	Medium
20-Year Height	20'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Poor
Elevation Range	2,000 to 5,000'	Life Span	100+ years
Windbreak Spacing	N/A	Minimum Annual Precip.	24"
Wildlife Value	Fair nesting and food, poor cover and browse. Good cover for wildlife Pests	Pests	No major pests
Comments	Shade tolerant native tree found on low elevation moist sites with cool summers and mild winters. It occupies moist canyons and flats and does not do well on open dry sites.

Spruce, Black Hills

Picea glauca var. densata

Growth Rate	Slow	Cold Hardiness	High
20-Year Height	12'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Fair
Elevation Range	Up to 6,000'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	12"
Wildlife Value	Excellent nesting cover	Pests	Dense crown is good for windbreaks, slow initial growth, color varies from green to slightly blue.
Comments	Dense crown is good for windbreaks, slow initial growth, color varies from green to slightly blue.

Spruce, Colorado Blue

Picea pungens

Growth Rate	Moderate	Cold Hardiness	Medium
20-Year Height	15'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Fair
Elevation Range	Up to 6,000'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	12"
Wildlife Value	Excellent nesting cover, poor browse	Pests	Spruce gall aphid, spider mites
Comments	Dense crown is good for windbreaks, slow initial growth, color varies from green to slightly blue.

Spruce, Engelmann

Picea engelmannii

Growth Rate	Slow	Cold Hardiness	High
20-Year Height	14'	Alkali/Saline Soil Tolerance	Poor
Elevation Range	3,500-9,000'	Life Span	80+ years
Windbreak Spacing	8-14'	Minimum Annual Precip.	15"
Wildlife Value	Excellent nesting and thermal cover, food source for small animals	Pests	Spruce budworm, spruce gall aphid, tussock moth, bark beetles
Comments	A high elevation tree, needs more water at the lower end of the elevation range. Used for reforestation and reclamation of high elevation, wet sites.