There is more than one, perhaps you are thinking of this species (link below). Anything east Asian might love the warm and wet Georgian summer climate, except for mountain species that could find it too hot - or are fussy about drainage (and prone to soil-borne pests/pathogens that may be prevalent where you are). Easily seen on Huangshan, a very famous sacred mountain in Anhui, where trees up to 100 cm dbh and 30 m tall occur. It grows there with Ginkgo biloba, Torreya grandis, Tsuga chinensis, and Pinus hwangshanensis. Here is a link that might be useful: Pseudotsuga sinensis (huang shan) description

Thanks! We understand that most of the conifers we are looking for grow extremely large. We, like many others, are trying to balance whether we want a tree that grows quicker and provides the screening we want faster (and will out-grow it's location faster), or a tree that grows slower and takes years to create the affect we are looking for. We've come to the conclusion that we will grow a faster-growing tree, and when it out-grows it's spot, we will cut it down, use it as a Christmas tree, and replant. We have a summer house in northern Wisconsin so we have an unlimited supply of balsams if we need them. In fact we have one growing in the front yard that was transplanted from there 4 years ago or so. It's probably tripled in size since it was planted (now about 5' tall).

Yes, resin: I read this topic (over in the trees forum) too fast--I thought these trees were in the Pacific NW. Ugh, I had a senior moment. You are right--I have seen almost nothing but sick Douglas fir around here. They seem to do OK for a while, but as they age they almost always get some kind of disease that I have not identified, and go downhill very fast. They are also sometimes devistated by sap suckers. In spite of my love for these trees, I will not plant one here. But there is one absolutely beautiful older one I know of. It is on the grounds of the Oatlands Plantation house south of Leesburg, VA. This tree is stunning--about 70 feet tall and as full and lush as one could wish any conifer to be. But Douglas fir is very variable, coming from a lot of different kinds of climates in the American West. Whatever the provenance of this tree is, it should be determined and published for all who want a tree of this remarkable species here in the "mid Atlantic" states. In any case, all this does not tell me that some lawn chemicals might not have hastened the onset of decline/death of these trees. --Spruce

Quite a few years ago, perhaps more than 10, I was shocked to see an oddly "boreal" looking conifer near Tyson's Corner Mall in Virginia. On examining the cones I was sure it was a douglas fir, because of the distinctive look. It had an open conical form, somewhat like the picture of the tree above. Not quite as tall, maybe only 20', but healthy looking. I kept thinking I'd look for it again, but, seriously, malls are maddening enough just trying to shop at them, I'm certainly not going to search for a tree on its grounds. Also that mall has had so much work done it could very well be gone. It was planted on a steep bank, which might explain why it hadn't died of summer drowning, which I suspect is a probably cause of death for them.