Fir Species Table 2

Species	Comments
Domestic Fir Species
Balsam Fir	Large natural range; longest used fir species for Christmas trees in the U.S. Adaptable to many sites. Many seed sources are available. Canaan fir is a geographic source of a variety (var. phanerolepis) of balsam fir which can be quite variable in appearance. Canaan fir breaks bud later and appears better suited to poorly drained soils than either balsam or Fraser fir.
Concolor Fir	Large geographic range from Oregon to northern Mexico. Long slightly curving, blue to silver-green foliage; excellent shape and post-harvest needle retention.
Fraser Fir	Premier Christmas tree species in much of the United States.
Grand Fir	Shiny green foliage with fragrant, long 2-ranked needles. Susceptible to late frost damage. Sometimes suffers from current season needle necrosis and relatively poor post-harvest needle retention.
Noble Fir	Popular, widely-grown western fir species. Deep green to bluish green foliage. Lack of cold hardiness and poor growth outside of native range have been reported.
Pacific Silver Fir	Long dark-green needles that lie close to the branch, Dense foliage
Subalpine Fir	Soft dense pale bluish-green foliage. Susceptible to early spring frost damage. Arizona corkbark fir is a variety (var. arizonica) of subalpine fir which is dense and well-shaped with soft cream-colored cork-like bark.
Promising Exotic Fir Species
European Silver Fir	Large range throughout the mountains of central and southern Europe; large variation among seed sources. Tolerant of balsam wooly adelgid.
Korean Fir	Similar in appearance to Fraser fir with lighter foliage and reddish buds. Some growers have had success with this species in the NC mountains.
Nikko Fir	Japanese fir; needles are rather stiff and slightly sharp, breaks bud late
Nordmann Fir	Native to the Caucasus Mountains; dark green foliage with excellent needle retention; Abrolauria considered best seed source.
Turkish Fir	Closely related to Greek and Nordmann fir. Tolerant of dry sites.

Table 2. List of currently used domestic and promising exotic fir species for Christmas tree production in the U.S.