Notes from a plant nerd: Oh balsam tree, oh balsam tree
At the highest elevations of the Southern Appalachians grow two evergreen trees that give the Balsam Mountains their name — red spruce (Picea rubens) and Fraser fir (Abies fraseri).
Namesake chosen for red spruce greenhouse
A namesake has been chosen for the $2 million greenhouse the Southern Highlands Reserve in Lake Toxaway is building to propagate red spruce trees for replanting on the landscape.
Red spruce greenhouse to break ground this fall
A $100,000 grant from the Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority has put a $2 million project to build a red spruce nursery past the halfway mark of its fundraising goal.
Red spruce planted at Mount Mitchell
In May, 327 two-year-old red spruce trees grown by the Southern Highlands Reserve in Lake Toxaway traveled to the Black Mountains for planting in Mount Mitchell State Park.
