The Great Willamette Valley Ice Storm of '16 - 7 - Ponderosa Pine Trees - 8 original photos
The Ponderosa Pine in my yard have unusually long needles. How did the big ice storm affect them? Come into my post and take a look!
Here's the first post on the Great Willamette Valley Ice Storm of 2016. I've already shown the effect of the ice on my Sequoia and Larch Trees; Blue Spruce and Western Redcedar Trees; Noble Fir, Grand Fir, and Eastern White Pine Trees; and two sets of Douglas-Firs. I'll be showing how the ice affected other trees and plants in future photosets, like River Birch, fruit trees, garden plants, and more.
Ponderosa Pine
Ponderosa Pine trees (Pinus ponderosa) are such iconic conifers of the western US! You can spot them in a lot of the old movie westerns. But with so many different mountain ranges, high desert plateaus, and river valleys across such a large region, Ponderosa Pines have unique genetics and characteristics in different parts of the West. Where I live, in Oregon's Willamette Valley, there is a very unique Ponderosa Pine, that occurs only here (Pinus ponderosa var. willamettensis).
Most of these Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pines were logged out with the land rush in the late 1800s. But a few stands remained - some nearby. People started collecting seed cones, raising seedlings in nurseries, and encouraging people to plant these special trees across the Willamette Valley. These trees don't mind soggy soils in our wet winter and have a much deeper taproot that keeps them upright in big windstorms. The trees grow really fast and their needles are the longest of all the different Ponderosa Pines.
I hope you enjoy this look at how these special Ponderosa Pine trees handled the big ice storm.
Every tree and every branch came through the storm just fine! I'm glad of that. And I appreciate them more than ever now! I'll post more about these special Ponderosa Pines in the future, so stay tuned!
How Is Your Winter Going?
Do you have any Ponderosa Pines where you live? Have you ever been through an ice storm? Have you ever had trees hurt by winter weather? I hope your winter is going great!
Other posts in this Ice Storm Series:
- The Great Willamette Valley Ice Storm of 2016
- Sequoia and Larch Trees
- Blue Spruce and Western Redcedar Trees
- Noble Fir, Grand Fir, and Eastern White Pine Trees
- Douglas-Firs 1
- Douglas Firs 2
Follow me to see more ice storm photosets, including how the ice affected my River Birch, Ponderosa Pine, fruit trees, and more.
Sources:
- Pinus ponderosa: Geographic Races and Subspecies Based on Morphological Variation
- Pinus ponderosa var: willamettensis
- Loggers give unique Oregon ponderosa pine a lifeline
** Haphazard Homestead **
*** foraging, gardening, nature, simple living close to the land ***
We have 8-12 inches of snow headed to NJ overnight. Which is weird, because it was in the mid 60s this afternoon. I took a lunchtime hike and was actually sweating with just a light fleece.
Nice post, and glad to see that your pines passed the test!!!
Thanks! What a weather change for you! Are you looking forward to some nice snowhike photos? I hope you have snowshoes or cross-country skiis, with that expected snowfall!
We have sweet gum trees here in Oklahoma, one of the five most dreaded trees to have in ones front yard. They produce endless spikey ball like cones about the size of a golf ball...no walking barefoot, trip you while walking/running and clog up the lawnmower....I miss Oregon and my trees , lovely photos😭😭😭
Oregon trees are something special. Glad you enjoyed looking at some from your old stomping grounds.
Sweetgums can be a problem, for sure! I posted a photo showing how they keep trying to take over land at my parents' place in Arkansas. My family used to have a Christmas centerpiece made of Sweetgum balls, stacked like a Christmas tree and spray-painted white. I wonder what the other 4 dreaded front-yard trees are!
Great article! I really enjoyed the close-ups of the needles encased in ice.
Where I live now we don't get much ice but when I lived in the Great White North there was regular ice damage, not only of trees but of power lines as well.
@kus-knee (The Old Dog)
Glad you enjoyed these photos. Ice is a real challenge for wires, for sure! Some folks were without power for over 2 weeks because so many lines were down. When a 100-foot tree comes down, there can be many things in its way!
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Very amazing ice on the pine trees! I look forward for more pictures with much interest! :)
Great pictures once again, but I will look forward to more info on this tree...hope you can share some "unfrozen" photos next time, It seems a beautiful tree :)
Great photos! I'm surprised the branches can take the extra weight of all that ice. I've seen quite a few branches break off here from several kinds of trees that were covered in ice.
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I wish Ponderosa Pines grew here. I don't think our extreme weather fluctuations would do well for them. The ice adds a nice effect on the needles. We had one small ice storm this winter, so far. It didn't seem to damage any healthy trees.
Great post. Lots of new info on the Ponderosa pine. They are beautiful. Amazing ice pictures on the long needles. And they ARE very sturdy. You would think they would break so easily, being so thin with relative TONS of weight on them. But no, they are tough. Hopefully there will be no more ice this year. Appreciate the humor in your writings as well. Makes them fun to read.