Terry L. Ettinger Horticulture Consulting Services
Meeting The Needs Of Today With A Vision For The Future
Special Topics
Evergreen Identification
Fir (Abies)
Fraser (Abies fraseri) and balsam (A. balsamea)
fir are very popular as Christmas trees because they’ll hold their needles until at least Valentine’s Day - which is when we
traditionally take our fraser fir tree down. They are, however, only occasionally planted in Central New York landscapes.
Concolor fir (A. concolor), below, on the other hand, is very
well-adapted to hot, dry and exposed growing conditions across
upstate New York and could be
considered as a faster-growing
alternative to Colorado/blue spruce where appropriate.
As a group, the firs are similar to Norway and Colorado/blue spruce in both form and size.
Their needles, however, are flat in cross-section, like
those of yews and hemlock. Two pale, white bands run the length of
the underside of
each needle and extend almost to the edges - unlike those of hemlock,
at right in the photo at right, which tend to remain very close
to the center of each needle.