Just looking at the statistics of the issue, if everyone who felt we do play a part in the change were to do what they could, there would be SOME change. Any improvement is worth accomplishing. Plus, the things we could do are more efficient, less wasteful and those can have an immediate, bottom line improvement on the cost of living. Even if nothing can improve the outcome, I like the knowledge that I am not wasting the utilities. I love knowing I am spending about as little as possible for electricity, gas (both natural and fuel) and water as I comfortably can. The upside is it satisfies me. The downside is when you've already tightened your belt concerning their use, mandatory conservation efforts begin hurting much faster than they do for many others. Kim

Resin, I have to beg to differ on that last comment. Red Spruce are a distinct species from Black Spruce, and while are similar are NOT the same tree. Also, Balsam Fir are pretty different from Fraser Fir. Even Canaan Fir are somewhat different from their very close relative the Balsam Fir, but they both look much closer to one another than they do Fraser firs. Seeing them in their native habitat, you can (well I can at least anyway) clearly see and tell the difference between the Fraser and Balsam firs. Similar, yes, but still fairly different. As for the OP, I would say that attempting to grow them in your climate is going to be a bit of a challenge. You saw them on the very highest of peaks in the Smokies. Typically above about 4,500 -5,000 feet or higher that far south. Here in Virginia and West Virginia, they also grow on the highest peaks of the Alleghenys / Appalachians and even a few peaks of the Blue Ride Mountains as well. However this far north they are able to grow at altitudes as low as 3,000 feet, and a few scattered stands can be found even lower than 3K feet, though they are not common. There are several reasons for this. First is the substantially cooler climate, even in summer. Where they grow the climate is so drastically different from most places that on any given summer day, it can be 90 down in the valley under 3,000 feet, but up on the high plateaus/ ridge tops it will be in the 60s/ 70s. Rarely do those ride tops see 90s, and often those ridge tops get into the 30s and 40s at night even in the hight of summer. Second is the mesic type habitat they do best in. These trees need WATER. While growing in standing water will eventually kill them, growing in high altitude wetlands, as well as open mesic environments on the high peaks is great for them. They are some of the closest trees the eastern US has to "rain forest trees" There are sections of WV, along the Allegheny front where they grow still (second growth forest except for one 150 acre tract) in fairly large tracts and numbers, but the environment is very high altitude for the east coast, is MUCH MUCH colder than most places on the east coast, and is much much wetter than anywhere on the east coast as well. Many areas where there are true Red Spruce forest receive almost as much annual precipitation as some of the temperate rain forests of the Pacific North West. The main difference being that much of the precip comes in the form of SNOW for Red Spruce. Were talking where they grow usually gets between about 150 and 200" of snow in any average winter, and has recieved 300 inches of snow annually at times. The annual liquid precip for most of the areas where Red Spruce grow exceeds 55 inches, which is considered the threshold for temperate rain forest in north America. Another thing to note about these trees is that in their native habitat the high mountain ridges they grow on are typically shrouded in coulds for a large number of days annually. Another thing to keep in mind with these trees is that when they are young, are EXTREMELY shade tolerant, and often will grow slightly better when in at least partial shade while young. In their native habitat, they are EXTREMELY hardy trees given the conditions they face: Extreme cold (20-45 below zero temps), many months of freezing, extreme high winds often on a daily basis (hurricane force sustained winds are common) as well as extreme heavy snow fall and coatings of ice for very extended periods of time ( think months on end). ALso, the soil make up where these trees grow is usually more acidic in nature. You CAN do it, but your trees will require special care, and LOTS of water. Relying solely on annual rain fall could do them in, especially if you have a drought year. One more thing to note is that they often will suffer from needle cast when taken outside of their native area. Not always, but it is fairly common. People used to dig them up in the WV highlands, and bring them home to use as landscape trees or wind break trees on farms 1-200 years or more ago, but often they ran into the same problems many at lower elevations do today, especially if you are on the close east side of a large mountain range in its "rain shadow". That said, they are quite beautiful trees. I personally prefer them to Norway Spruce as they often have a more narrow crown, at least until they get huge. While we can grow them here they are tricky even for us, and were very close to their native range. I feel very privileged to live so close (2 hours drive) from some of the best remaining Red Spruce forests south of NH / Canada. The trees you saw in the Smokies, while beautiful trees are not true solid Red Spruce forest. For that you need to go to mainly West Virginia , and even parts of extreme western VA. This is where the true Red Spruce forest ecosystem begins, and the stands are usually PURE. The highest elevations of the Monongahela National Forest, ranging from 3K feet, to 4,863 feet on WV's higest peak, Spruce Knob. If you'd like I can post some photos of that area and the native Red Spruce Forest. Just let me know.

While this thread was pointlessly bumped, I wanted to thank Dean for sharing that study. I have 2 A. pindrow and they've been just fine here. Also showing enough root rot resistance _for northeastern Maryland_ (elsewhere, YMMV) A. recurvata A. alba (there's a huge one at Longwood Gardens, and a big one at National Arboretum) A. nordmanniana Failures: any western US fir on its own roots - I've tried several of them; although my house came with a Concolor fir that was 40-50' tall, it was in slow decline the whole time and died after one of the mega-wet spells we had in the early 2010s. If you had to chose one as slightly tolerant for the eastern US, it would be that one. And they are common landscaping material up north like the NYC and Boston suburbs. Abies delavayi on its own roots Btw to 'Cliff' ungrafted Noble Fir, Abies procera, is 100% no go for anywhere in the southern US other than the highest mountain towns like Boone, NC. Will probably die the first year of root rot, as did mine.

Funny how different things are from region to region :-)) Your "major drought" is our normal state of affairs from June thru September - we typically average just a scosh over 3" during this period but haven't hit it yet. In fact, if it weren't for a pretty decent rainstorm on the 1st, we'd be well under "normal" rainfall totals. All of that is to say is that drought is relative. While your larger established trees may have come to 'expect' more rainfall than you have received this season, they can probably get by without it just fine - for the most part, ours do :-) Yes, we see some early drying and dropping of foliage in some cases but what is lacking in rainfall in summer here is offset by adequate rainfall the rest of the year. (And before you think that we are inundated with rain here in the soggy Pacific Northwest, the Puget Sound area, including Seattle, averages only 36" of rainfall annually, compared to Boston's 44") But to answer your question, dumping the rain barrel at the base of the tree - the area immediately surrounding the trunk - was very probably more of a waste of water than a boon to the tree. The fine feeder roots - those that seek out and absorb the bulk of the required moisture - ARE located at the dripline and extend quite far beyond as well. And because these large, well-established trees have such a far reaching root system, it is often difficult to supply water in times of perceived need. And generally is unnecessary :-) Watering trees here in summer pretty much only applies to those that are newly planted and not yet well established. Have you watered your lawn at all? Other flower or planting beds anywhere in the tree's vicinity? If so, you may have supplied your tree with more water than you realize.