Fraser fir is a dear character of Christmas tree that also offer privacy , beauty , and wildlife value to gardens .
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The Fraser fir tree(Abies fraseri)is a comparatively rare sight in the wild . Fortunately , that ’s not the case near to civilisation . In fact , it ’s a vulgar sight during the vacation specially . Fraser fir tree has become one of themost popular Christmas treesdue to its attractive color and material body , fragrance , excellent needle retentiveness , and more or less upturned branches up to of displaying consignment of decoration .
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In the home landscape , this medium - sizing coniferous tree makes an excellent specimen tree with year - round appealingness . householder love the risque - green foliation with silvery white undersides . The retinal cone are unequaled , too , taking on a two - feel appearance in summer before mature seeds into a food beginning for squirrel and other small mammalian . Meanwhile , Fraser fir ’s strong , rigid branches and dense foliage make it a favoritenesting spot for snort .
To supply this pretty , wildlife - friendly tree diagram to your yard , employ this usher to check how to grow and manage for a Fraser fir .
Where to Plant a Fraser Fir Tree
Like any tree , a Fraser true fir should be plant where it has ample room to reach its mature sizing without overtaking other plant life or threatening nearby social structure . Plant it as a inhabit concealment wherever you need some twelvemonth - round privacy . Or surround it with smaller evergreen in a assorted coniferous tree garden . Fraser fir also makes a in effect specimen plant in the front yard , where it will recognize passers - by throughout the year . In big landscapes , flora several Fraser fir in a little grove to revivify awildlife habitat .
How and When to Plant Fraser Fir Trees
Early spring or settle is the best time to imbed Fraser fir . It is often sell as a container industrial plant but can be grade bare antecedent through chain mail - order nurseries . savvy a pickle that is as rich as the height of the antecedent ball but doubly as extensive . Remove the tree from its container . If the antecedent are tightly wound , cut them with a saw at four equidistant places to advance them to migrate into surround land rather than continue to circle the ancestor ball .
Place the tree in the holeso the taper home of the trunk is level with the circumvent grade . Backfill the planting hole with the excavated soil , firmly tamping it to eliminate larger air pockets . Spread a 2 - inchlayer of mulchover the root geographical zone , keeping the mulch several inches away from the tree ’s automobile trunk . Water the tree lento and deeply so the water seep into the soil rather than running off .
Fraser Fir Tree Care Tips
Fraser fir tree is a relatively low - maintenance tree as long as the condition are desirable .
Light
Plant Fraser fir where it will receivesix to eight hours of sun each Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . It can take partial shade and in blistering climates may really benefit from a rest from the sun ’s rays in the afternoon .
Soil and Water
Fraser fir prefer a fertile , moist , slenderly acidicsoil that is well debilitate . It does best inloamy soil ; cloggy clays drain too easy and will cause Fraser fir to abide and turn down . It is also intolerant of saltiness from wintertime de - icing , so keep it away from driveways and sidewalk . Fraser fir requires regular lachrymation the first two years after planting and supplementary watering during drouth .
Temperature and Humidity
Being native to the cool , moist slopes and high-pitched altitudes of the southerly Appalachian Mountains , Fraser fir is not customary to highly hot atmospheric condition and therefore not recommend for red-hot , humid climates in the south of Zone 7 .
Fertilizer
Fraser fir does n’t expect fertilizer . Because it is relatively shallow - root , though , it may benefit from a 2 - inchlayer of organic mulch , which will conserve wet , keep roots coolheaded , and finally break down to add food .
Pruning
With its pyramidic shape and slurred branching , Fraser fir has a naturally attractive shape that should not involve pruning unless a branch is damaged or dead .
Pests and Problems
The two major threats to Fraser fir are a petite insect and a fungus :
Balsam woolly adelgidis an introduced gadfly that has become a major threat to Fraser fir Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in the wild . An initial infestation causes swelling and dieback of bud and twig and a heavy infestation can kill a tree . The diminutive wingless insect are hard to see with the naked eye but their presence is easy to discover due to the white woolly mass that covers the grownup insect and their eggs .
Phytophthora root rotis the other big threat . It is more likely to occur in heavy , badly drained dirt , cause yellow - unripened needle , wilting , slow growth , deadened offset , and eventually death of the tree diagram .
Credit:Denny Schrock
Other pests , such as barque mallet , spruce budworms , aphid , bagworms , and graduated table can also cause problems . In hot condition , spider mites may appear .
How to Propagate Fraser Fir Trees
garner sticky conoid in late summertime or other descent and set out to dry out . They will finally shatter into bract , semen , and stem . Save the seeded player , refrigerate in a certain plastic dish for three or four months , then sow in stack filled with germ - starting dirt mix .
Fraser firs grow slowly , only about 1 inch the first class , 1 foot in five years , so a quicker option is to buy marginal - root seedlings from a mail - rescript nursery orstart unexampled plants from cuttings . This involves crop 5 - 7 - inch division of new emergence from trees , removing needles from the bottom two - thirds , dipping the cut end in rooting internal secretion , and placing in moist potting mix in a nerveless areawith collateral ignitor . Rooting can take half a year or longer .
Types of Fraser Fir Trees
count for the following types of Fraser firs as attractive variations on the species .
Canaan Fir
Closely related to Fraser true fir and Balsam fir ( it ’s peradventure a naturally occurring hybrid of the two ) it originate in the Canaan Valley of West Virginia and has become a popular Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree due to its attractive coming into court . out of doors , it is say to be more tolerant of crocked conditions than Fraser fir .
‘Fastigiata Compacta’
This stocky , columnlike , semi - dwarf cultivar originate just 6 foot marvelous and 2 foot wide in a decade .
‘Klein’s Nest’
A compact , rounded , densely branched cultivar , it has shorter needles than the specie and grow about 30 feet tall .
Denny Schrock
‘Prostrata’
This tardily - arise cultivar matures into a spreading , mound form , 4 - 5 feet tall , 12 - 14 invertebrate foot across-the-board .
Fraser Fir Companion Plants
In the wild , Fraser fir tree often grows with other type of fir tree trees . In the home garden , you could pair it with companions that like the same acidic , dampish , well - drain soils .
Bob Stefko
Magnolias
Magnoliashave showy bloom , sometimes appearing before the leaves in spring . These flowering woody plant life do in a range of specie and cultivars from shrubs and small Tree to large trees .
Rhododendrons
Rhododendronslike the same moist , well - run out , acidic soils as Fraser true fir and offer a variety of size of it and bloom colors . Some have pretty autumn coloration , others tout the power to flower a second metre the same growing time of year .
Blueberries
Blueberriesare another fellow traveler industrial plant with similar needs as Fraser true fir . They offer tasty Chuck Berry for people or wildlife . The plants themselves also have attractive fall colouration .
Frequently Asked Questions
It is native to the southerly Appalachian Mountains of Virginia , North Carolina , and Tennessee but commonly planted as an ornamental in lower altitude .
Although the two standardized - looking species are both Christmas tree favorites , there are a few telltale differences . Fraser fir grows slow than Balsam fir tree and has stronger branches . The leaf has more contrast than that of Balsam . Moreover , the pointy needles feel knifelike when grasped in the deal . While Balsam true fir is more fragrant , Fraser fir holds its needles longer as a snub Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
If given the right growing experimental condition , Fraser fir can live 150 years .
Credit:Bob Stefko
The tree was named after John Fraser , an 18th C Scottish botanist who discover the species and introduced it to Britain .
Credit: Kritsada Panichgul
Credit: Laurie Black
