Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Marginal

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Won't grow here

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

⚠→✕

Marginal today, but likely out of range by 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 26 ecoregions — 11 climate-resilient through 2070 · 15 suited today. Best matches first.

Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Colorado Rockies forests

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Nebraska Sand Hills mixed grasslands

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Northeastern Coastal Forests

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Northeastern Hardwoods

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Northern Pacific Alaskan coastal forests

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Northern Tallgrass prairie

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Sierra Nevada forests

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South Central Rockies forests

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun

Water

Consistent moisture

Spacing

240"

Habit

Narrow pyramidal evergreen conifer, branching to the ground when young and becoming cylindrical with age

Care tips

•

Give it abundant air and soil moisture in full sun — it resents hot, humid, drought-prone summers.

•

Outside the Pacific Northwest, choose the Rocky Mountain var. glauca for its better cold hardiness (Zone 4 vs the species at Zone 6).

•

Site it where a 40-80 foot tree has decades of vertical and lateral room; it stays where you plant it.

Lifecycle

Planting

Plant in spring or fall in medium to wet, well-drained soil in full sun. Does best where there is abundant air and soil moisture. Not a good tree for hot, humid summers with periods of drought (e.g. St. Louis) per Missouri Botanical Garden; the Rocky Mountain var. glauca is the better, more cold-hardy selection outside the Pacific Northwest.

Transplanting

Move only when young and dormant; mature trees rarely transplant cleanly. Preserve as much of the root ball as the container or B&B size allows.

Early growth

Water deeply through the first 2-3 seasons while the root system establishes; mulch a wide ring without burying the trunk flare. Young trees branch to the ground.

Maturity

Reaches 40-80 feet tall and 12-20 feet wide in cultivation (300+ feet in the wild). Trees become more cylindrical with age as they shed lower branching, with older trees typically branching only on the top third.

Propagation

Grown from seed; the commonly cultivated Rocky Mountain var. glauca is selected for cold tolerance. Verify variety before recommending for a given climate.

Pollination

Wind-pollinated

Wind-pollinated conifer — Douglas fir is non-flowering and reproduces via pollen cones and seed cones rather than insect-pollinated flowers. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center notes the inconspicuous yellowish-red pollen cones appear in April. It offers no nectar; its wildlife value is in foliage, seed, and cover.

For people

Not eaten by humans

A timber and ornamental conifer — Douglas fir ranks first in the United States in total volume of timber, lumber production, and plywood-veneer production (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center). It is not a human food crop.

Native range

Native across 14 US states + 1 CA province.

AHS heat range

1-6

Native ecoregions

Naturally belongs in 31 ecoregions — its native range crosses a state or province each one spans (not necessarily this exact habitat).

Arizona Mountains forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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Blue Mountains forests

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California coastal sage and chaparral

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Chihuahuan desert

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Colorado Rockies forests

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Climate notes

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Pseudotsuga menziesii for USDA zones 4-6 in full sun with medium-to-wet, well-drained soil; the species is hardy to Zone 6 while the Rocky Mountain var. glauca is hardy to Zone 4.

•

Missouri Botanical Garden notes it is a good tree for northern and northwestern climates but not for areas with hot, humid summers and periods of drought; var. glauca is the better selection for midwestern climates because of its cold tolerance.

•

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents it native across the western US and into Canada (AZ, CA, CO, ID, MN, MT, NM, NV, NY, OR, TX, UT, WA, WY, and Alberta), indigenous to coastal areas and up to 5,500 feet elevation in the mountains from British Columbia south to central California (Missouri Botanical Garden).

In the designer

Growth over time

480-960" tall · 144-240" spread

Mature cylindrical timber-scale tree; lower branches shed, branching mostly on upper third.

Design roles: Structure · Focal point

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Douglas fir

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations