What does an Engelmann spruce look like?
They are deep bluish-green with two white bands on both the upper and lower surfaces. The needles are arranged in all directions on the twigs. Seed cones are yellow to purplish-brown and hang from the upper branches. Their papery seed scales are tapered at both ends and have a ragged outer edge.
Is Engelmann spruce rare?
The tree prefers to grow at higher elevations. It is usually found in mixed forests with sub-alpine firs. Pure stands of Engelmann are rare; it likes to grow interspersed with other species.
Where are Engelmann spruce found?
Engelmann spruce is a major component of the high-elevation Rocky Mountain forests, growing in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Alberta, south through the high mountains of eastern Washington and Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana to western and central Wyoming, and in the high mountains of southern Wyoming, ...
How do you identify spruce varieties?
Spruce trees can be identified by their needles which have four sides. Each needle is individually attached to the branch and can be rolled easily between your fingers. Another way to identify spruce trees is by their cones that are covered with smooth thin scales. It is quite easy to bend the cones of spruce trees.
What is Engelmann spruce used for?
It has been used for home construction, pre-fabricated wood products, and plywood manufacture. Less commonly it is used for specialty items such as food containers, and sounding boards for violins, pianos, and guitars. Engelmann spruce is widely used for Christmas trees.
Is Engelmann spruce hardwood?
Engelmann Spruce | The Wood Database (Softwood)
How do you identify a subalpine fir?
Subalpine fir has a distinctive long, narrow crown of short stiff branches. Needles have blunt ends and are often notched at the tip. They are blue-green with a single white band on the top and two beneath. Needles all tend to turn upwards, but often a few stick out from the underside of the branch.
How do you identify a Sitka spruce?
The bark is very thin, brown or purplish-grey, and breaks up into small scales. Sitka spruce needles are light green to bluish-green, stuff and sharp. They are four-sided but slightly flattened with two white bands running along the upper surface and two narrower bands along the lower surface.
How long does it take for Engelmann spruce to grow to harvest in Utah?
The trees grow rather slowly, reaching mature size in about 150 years, but may live 400 or more years.
Which spruce tree is the best?
Some of the best spruce trees to plant in your yard include Black, Serbian, Weeping White, Norway, Black Hills, Colorado Blue, Dwarf Alberta, Sitka, and White Spruce. These spruce trees adapt to a variety of soil and weather conditions, providing plenty of interesting colors during the cold gray winter.
Is there a difference between Norway spruce and Norway pine?
But, no, even though they are both in the same plant family (Pinaceae) they are neither the same Genus nor Species and are very different plants.
How do you tell a white spruce from a black spruce?
The lengths of black spruce's ovoid, nearly round cones and straight, stub-like needles max out at 1.5 and . 5 inches, respectively, while the narrowly oblong cones and needles of white spruce can reach up to 2.5 and . 75 inches.
How fast does Engelmann spruce grow?
The trees grow rather slowly, reaching mature size in about 150 years, but may live 400 or more years.
How do you grow Engelmann spruce?
Engelmann spruce prefers cool, humid environments characterized by long winters and short, cool summers. It can grow in a wide range of well drained soils provided that there is access to adequate moisture.
How do you identify a Sitka spruce?
The bark is very thin, brown or purplish-grey, and breaks up into small scales. Sitka spruce needles are light green to bluish-green, stuff and sharp. They are four-sided but slightly flattened with two white bands running along the upper surface and two narrower bands along the lower surface.
How fast does white spruce grow?
13–24" per yearGrowth Rate This tree grows at a medium rate, with height increases of 13–24" per year.
What is Sitka spruce used for?
Common Uses: Construction lumber, sheathing, railroad ties, wood pulp, and papermaking; also used occasionally in place of Sitka Spruce on guitars and other musical instrument soundboards.
Does spruce have a odor?
A sanding sealer, gel stain, or toner is recommended when coloring Spruce. Odor: No characteristic odor.
Is Engelmann Spruce a grain?
Grain/Texture: Engelmann Spruce has a fine, even texture, and a consistently straight grain; numerous small knots are also common.
Is spruce a sensitizer?
Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Spruce in the Picea genus has been reported as a sensitizer. Usually most common reactions simply include skin irritation and/or respiratory disorders. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
Is spruce cheap?
Pricing/Availability: Construction grade spruce is cheap and easy to find. However, old growth and/or quartersawn clear pieces—free from knots—can be more expensive. Quartersawn billets of instrument-grade Engelmann Spruce can easily exceed the cost of most all domestic hardwoods in terms of per board-foot cost.
Where do Engelmann Spruce Grow?
Engelmann spruce trees are large, narrowly pyramidal evergreen trees that can reach heights of over 100 feet (35 m.) tall. They have gray brown or russet bark, ascending or horizontal branches and bluish green four-sided needles.
Engelmann Spruce Tree Uses
Engelmann spruce tree uses include producing lumber. The wood of this spruce is fairly soft and low in resin. Much of it contains knots, which makes it more appropriate for pulp than for high-grade lumber. However, lumber from Engelmann spruce trees has been used for construction, pre-fabricated wood products, and plywood.
Engelmann Spruce Information
The facts about Engelmann spruce longevity are amazing. These trees are exceedingly long lived, continuing to grow steadily for hundreds of years. Dominant spruce trees are often up to 450 years old and it is not unusual for Engelmann spruce to live for 600 or even 800 years!
What color is a sage's bark?
purplish or reddish-brown. bark is brown to gray.
Do mature trees flatten with age?
Mature trees flatten with age. Branches narrow, and typically
What grade is Engelmann spruce?
Similarly to Engelmann spruce, you can buy this wood in various grades, including AAAA, AAA, AA, A, and 2nd grade. More so, the quality of the wood that is used for the guitar affects the sound that it produces.
Which is stronger, Sitka or Engelmann spruce?
Engelmann spruce is much lighter and less stiff than Sitka spruce. With this being said, your guitar top will vibrate a lot more when it is made from Engelmann wood. This causes the sound produced to be much stronger and richer than the sound produced by a guitar top made from Sitka spruce.
What is the difference between Sitka and Engelmann spruce guitars?
Engelmann spruce guitars produce a very rich and complex sound. On the other hand, Sitka spruce guitars create a much more compressed and dynamic sound.
Which spruce is better?
There is no definite answer to the question ‘which spruce is better?’ in the debate of Engelmann Spruce vs Sitka Spruce. You should purchase a guitar based on your style and taste as an artist. If you still have trouble deciding, visit your local music store and test both guitar types out for yourself – this will help you realize which sound is better suited to you.
Which is better, Sitka or Engelmann?
With that being said, a large number of players enjoy Sitka spruce guitars because of how versatile they are. Engelmann spruce guitars are better suited for soft players who have a laid-back sound. However, Sitka spruce guitars can be used for all types of music.
Where was the Engelmann spruce guitar made?
This guitar top was first designed and created in North America, as the Engelmann spruce plant is native to the land. You will be able to recognize Engelmann spruce by its light and creamy color (hence why it is also called white spruce).
Do Engelmann and Sitka spruce have different sounds?
Both spruces produce completely different sounds. With that being said, all artists have different tastes and styles when it comes to their music. The reasoning behind the major debate between Engelmann and Sitka spruce lies in the fact that some people prefer the sound created by the one guitar top, while others prefer the sound created by the other guitar top.
What grade is Engelmann?
You can get Engelmann in different grades including AAA, AA, A and 2 nd grade. The quality of the wood will also affect how it sounds.
What does an Engelmann topped guitar sound like?
Elements other than the top also have a big influence on tone, dynamics, sustain etc.?So, one Engelmann topped guitar may sound closer to a Sitka topped guitar , if the two are quite different in other ways (such as back and sides and bracing) than it would if everything else was the same. Or it might sound even more different.
Why does Engelmann produce different tone?
Because of the larger vibrations and the abundance of overtones , Engelmann will help a softer player produce a richer, more dynamic tone.
Which is heavier, Sitka or Engelmann?
Sitka is heavier and stiffer than Engelmann – this produces a more controlled, more consistent, more compressed kind of sound. There are less overtones and there is less complexity going on – which means that whether you play loud or soft you get a clear, more defined sound than you do with Engelmann.
Which is lighter, Engelmann or Sitka?
Engelmann is lighter weight and less stiff than Sitka – this allows the top to vibrate more (limited of course by other factors – particularly binding).
What happens if you play too aggressively on Engelmann?
However, if you play too aggressively?on Engelmann (all else being equal of course) the sound can become a bit washy. What I mean by that, is that the sound won?t be as clear and defined.
Where does spruce come from?
It is native to North America. European Spruce (also known as German Spruce – even though it typically doesn?t come from Germany these days) is sometimes also called Engelmann Spruce – however, this is a different (though similar) species.
How to tell if Engelmann spruce is a spruce?
You can easily identify spruce trees by touching their sharp needles. Also, spruce needles are unique in growing from short, woody pegs that remain after the needles fall off.
What is Engelmann spruce used for?
Uses: Like other spruces, Engelmann spruce is used for making paper, lumber, and fine musical instruments such as guitars and violins.
