Habitat

• native to the Rocky Mountains of the western United States; from Canada to California
• zone 3

Habit and Form

• evergreen tree
• 50' to 75' tall by 20' to 30' wide, but can reach over 100' tall
• pyramidal in shape, holding a dense, formal shape well, even with age
• medium to coarse texture
• slow to medium growth rate

Summer Foliage

• needles are 2" to 3" long
• needles arranged horizontally on the stem, curving up and out, much like a "rib cage"
• needles are glaucous on both-sides giving it a blue cast to the upper and underside
• needles have 2 white stomatal lines on underside
• buds are resinous

Autumn Foliage

• no fall color (evergreen)

Flowers

• no ornamental value
• monoecious

Fruit

• brown cones, green when immature
• cylindrical
• 4" to 5" long
• cones shatter when mature
• cones borne on the upper third of the tree

Bark

• smooth, except for occasional resin blisters
• bark has a whitish gray color
• new stems are yellow-green in color and are somewhat hairy

Culture

• easily transplanted
• tolerant of most climates and city conditions
• prefers a deep, well-drained soil with adequate moisture, but less fussy about soil moisture than other Abies sp.
• full sun
• most adaptable of all Abies sp. to cultivation

Landscape Uses

• specimen tree, has exceptional foliage
• adds nice color to typical green winter foliage
• less likely to fail than other true firs under a range of landscape situations

Liabilities

• formal form and blue color can be imposing in some landscape situations
• often damaged by deer

ID Features

• needles are similar in color on top and bottom
• smooth bark with resin blisters
• longest needles of commonly seen firs
• resinous buds
• circular leaf scars

Propagation

• by seed, stratification period required for good germination

Cultivars/Varieties

'Candicans' - Notable for its intense silvery-blue needles, perhaps the bluest of all Abies.

'Compacta' - A handsome dwarf form with an irregular habit and blue needles.

'Dwarf Globe' - A dwarf form (to 3' tall) with needles that are borne densely and bluish-green in color.

'Glenmore' - A more compact variety than the species with grey-blue needles that are longer than usual.

'Gable's Weeping' - An unusual, slow-growing form that forms a mound of drooping branches.

'Violacea' - Beautiful form with intense silvery-blue needles. Often grafted on species understock.