Tall Evergreen Perennials in the Northwest

Coast Redwoods

• The tallest trees in the world are the coast redwoods, found in the coastal regions of Northern California and Southern Oregon. The average height of coastal redwoods is 300 to 350 feet, with some specimens reaching over 370 feet. Coast redwoods live as long as 1,800 years, making them among the oldest living organisms in the world. This tree is one of only three living species under the Sequoia genus.

Douglas Firs

• One of the tallest trees in the Pacific Northwest is the coast Douglas-fir, which reaches heights of more than 300 feet when mature. This tree is the second-tallest tree in the world behind the coastal redwood. The coast Douglas-fir is the only species in the Pseudotsuga genus of evergreen trees. The needles of the coast Douglas-fir are yellowish-green and about an inch long. The oldest recorded Douglas-fir, located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, is thought to be 1,300 to 1,400 years old.

Yews

• Yew trees belong to the Taxaceae family of coniferous trees and one of the family's species, the Pacific yew, is native to the Pacific Northwest. The Pacific yew grows 50 to 60 feet when mature. Many Pacific yews live 100 to 125 years. Most yew trees are native to Asia but grow in the Pacific Northwest as landscape cultivars. English yews, a Pacific Northwest cultivar, are originally from the United Kingdom and grow 30 to 60 feet. One difference between yews and other conifers is that yews produce berries instead of cones.

Pines

• Eight species of pine trees are native to the Pacific Northwest: Lodgepole, Western White, Sugar, Limber, Whitebark, Jeffrey, Knobcone and Ponderosa. These trees belong to the Pinaceae family. The tallest native pine from this group is the Ponderosa pine, which reaches 180 feet at maturity. Pine trees live 80 to 100 years, depending on the species.

Spruces

• Three species of spruce trees are native to the Pacific Northwest: Sitka, Brewer and Engelmann. Two of the spruce species, Engelmann and Brewer, grow at elevations over 3,000 feet, while the Sitka spruce is seen in the Pacific Northwest's coastal regions. The tallest of the Pacific Northwest spruces is the Sitka, which reaches heights of more than 300 feet at maturity. Sitka spruces are able to live 700 to 800 years.