Terry L. Ettinger Horticulture Consulting Services
Meeting The Needs Of Today With A Vision For The Future
Special Topics
Overgrown Evergreens
Fir (Abies)
Fir trees can be identified in the landscape by their flat, blunt-tipped leaves that have two grayish-white stripes running
the length of each needle. These leaves/needles are attached individually to the stem and leave a circular “leaf scar” when
pulled from the stem. The Dawes Arboretum lists approximately 30 species and more than 100 cultivars of fir trees in its
collection. However, unless you really want to work to track these down, there are generally two or three species and a
couple of cultivars that are relatively available here in Central New York. They include:
- Balsam fir
- (Abies balsamea)
- Six to ten inches per year
- Forty to sixty feet tall and twenty feet wide
- Dwarf Balsam fir
- (Abies balsamea `Nana')
- Four to six inches per year
- Four feet tall and six feet wide
- Concolor fir
- (Abies concolor)
- Eight to twelve inches per year
- Forty to sixty feet tall and twenty to thirty feet wide
- Fraser fir
- (Abies fraseri)
- Six to ten inches per year
- Forty tall and twenty feet wide
- 'Horstmann's Silverlock' Korean fir
- (Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silverlock')
- Six to eight inches per year
- Forty tall and twenty feet wide