Description
Abies fraseri – Fraser fir
Quality: 1/1 P
Short description: The Fraser fir from the Appalachian Mountains of North America is best known as a premium Christmas tree species – and rightly so: its dense, uniform conical shape, soft dark-green needles with a silvery-white underside, and pleasant fragrance make it the most attractive conifer for the garden. As an evergreen specimen tree or container plant, it is an eye-catcher even outside the Christmas season.
Climatic characteristics & site conditions: The Fraser fir prefers cool, moist, airy locations – in its native range it grows in mountain areas above 1,500 m. In southern Germany, it is therefore best suited to the higher elevations of the Black Forest, the Allgäu and the Bavarian Forest. In warmer lowland areas it suffers from heat and drought and is more susceptible to spider mites. It requires acidic, well-drained soils and does not tolerate calcareous sites.
Advantages: Exceptionally beautiful, uniform habit, pleasant fragrance, soft needles, dense crown, excellent as a Christmas tree.
Disadvantages: Not native, unsuitable for warm and dry lowland areas of southern Germany, susceptible to spider mites in heat, no calcareous soils, less common in trade than other firs.
