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So many firs, so little time . . .

treeguy_ny USDA z6a WNY

16 years ago

Hello,

I've found a large list of seedling firs available for purchase from a local grower. I love firs and would like to grow as many as possible on my property. However, I'm not familiar with many of the species available. So, I'm humbly asking the experienced and wise folks on this forum for their advice. Given the following climate characteristics, how well should I expect these species to do for me?

Climate info from past 57 years of records:

- avg minimum temperature = -5F (-20.6C)

- avg number of days/year where temp's fall below 0F (-17.8C) = 3.7

- avg maximum temperature = 91.3F (32.9C)

- avg number of days/year where temps raised above 90F (32.2C) = 3.8

- lowest minimum temperature = -20F (-28.9C)

- number of years temp fell below -10F (-23.3C) = 7

The list:

Corkbark Fir - Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica

Delavay Fir - Abies delavay

Ernest Fir - Abies ernesti

Faber Fir - Abies fabri

Georges Fir - Abies georgii

Greek Fir - Abies cephalonica

Japanese Fir - Abies firma

Amur Fir - Abies nephrolepis

Korean Fir - Abies koreana

Min Fir - Abies recurvata

Nikko Fir - Abies homolepis

Pacific Silver Fir - Abies amabilis

Pindrow Fir - Abies pindrow

Trojan Fir - Abies equi-trojani

Turkish Fir - Abies bornmuelleriana

Veitch Fir - Abies veitchii

Anybody with experience growing any of these species, please share!

Thanks!

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Comments (4)

pineresin
16 years ago
I'd say . . .

Corkbark Fir - Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica. Worth a try but won't like summer heat too much.
Delavay Fir - Abies delavayi. No hope (zone 8 hardy, needs cool, extremely wet summers).
Ernest Fir - Abies recurvata var. ernestii. Very good prospects.
Faber Fir - Abies fabri. No hope (zone 7 hardy, needs cool summers).
Georges Fir - Abies georgii. No hope (zone 7 hardy, needs cool summers).
Greek Fir - Abies cephalonica. Very good prospects.
Japanese Fir - Abies firma. Worth a try but may suffer winter cold damage.
Amur Fir - Abies nephrolepis. Well worth a try but won't like summer heat too much.
Korean Fir - Abies koreana. Well worth a try but won't like summer heat too much.
Min Fir - Abies recurvata. Very good prospects.
Nikko Fir - Abies homolepis. Very good prospects.
Pacific Silver Fir - Abies amabilis. No hope (needs cool summers).
Pindrow Fir - Abies pindrow. No hope (zone 8 hardy, marginal in 7).
Trojan Fir - Abies nordmanniana subsp. equi-trojani. Very good prospects.
Turkish Fir - Abies nordmanniana subsp. bornmuelleriana. Very good prospects.
Veitch Fir - Abies veitchii. Well worth a try but won't like summer heat too much.

Note a few taxonomic emendations to names!

Also worth looking for Manchurian Fir (Abies holophylla), very good prospects.

Resin
treeguy_ny USDA z6a WNY
Original Author
16 years ago
Resin, thanks for your input as well as the nomenclature corrections. For those that need cool summers, how hot is too hot? I know that sounds odd to ask. However, our average summer temperature is about 85F (29.4C). I also forgot to add, the average yearly amount of precipitation is 38.7 inches (~1 meter).

Anybody else have suggestions for growing or experience with these species?
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treeguy_ny USDA z6a WNY
Original Author
16 years ago
Also, thanks for the A. holophylla suggestion. Here are some firs I already have on the property:
A. holophylla
A. lasiocarpa var. lasiocarpa
A. magnifica
A. numidica
A. procera
A. nordmanniana subsp. nordmanniana
A. grandis (interior strain)
A. alba
A. fraseri
A. balsamea
pineresin
16 years ago
If you can grow Aa. balsamea, fraseri and lasiocarpa OK, then Aa. koreana, nephrolepis and veitchii should also succeed. My suspicion though is that they'll all only succeed for a few years and then fade out and die (probably with complications from balsam woolly adelgid Adelges piceae) while still quite young. All of these do well in northern Britain (summer average around 15 to 17Â°C) but are short-lived in southern Britain (summer average around 18 to 23Â°C)

Another two to get (if you can find them!) are Abies chensiensis and Abies fargesii (syn. A. sutchuenensis).

Resin

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