Ancient Forest Old-growth Trees of Canada
The hunt for massive old growth tree stands takes you into deep forests of the Canadian backcountry. Searching for groves of excellence in which the giant specimens grow is both thrilling and memorable.
One such example (among many) is located on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia. There grows a tall, very large Douglas-Fir that stands alone towering over the clear-cut forest surrounding it. His name is, appropriately, Big Lonely Doug nicknamed by the local people. Impressive it would be standing above the trees on the hills surrounding it, but this tree emanates from the valley floor!
The tree is estimated to be approximately 1000 years old. It is a massive tree, very sizeable. In 2014 it was measured by the University of British Columbia to be approximately - 70 m in height (230 ft), Diameter approx. 3.9m. Circumference approx. 12m. Needless to say, any tree with a diameter approaching 4m is a massive tree.
Douglas-fir is a member of the Pinaceae (pine family) of coniferous trees including hemlocks, pines, spruces, firs and larches. Both of the tallest conifers in this family are Sitka spruce (100m tall tree in California) and Douglas-fir (100m tall tree in Oregon). Another example would be the tallest Noble Fir, a 90m tall tree in Washington state.
However there are very large trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family) of trees - Giant sequoia, Western redcedar, Coast redwood to name a few. The tallest tree known is a Coast redwood in California, measuring approximately 116m in height. However as we know British Columbia has vast forests of Western red cedar near the coastline and in the interior as well. Some of them have spawned incredible trees of huge diameters and circumferences.
Avatar grove, one of the places on Vancouver Island that contains very large and old specimens of this species is popular for tree enthusiasts. This rich hillside valley seems to collect moisture and huge trees. Some of the trees reach several meters in diameter and have been there for many hundreds of years.
We are pleased to offer Western redcedar for sale as of this week. Our supplier from B.C. has come through and we now have a fair quantity available for sale. We have processed and sorted the seeds to ensure quality and consistency.
Check out our product page here for Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Check out our product page here for Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata)