Nordmann fir

Nordmann fir: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Tree of 25–40 m with a dense, regular, conical crown about 7 m wide and branches right down to the ground.

Needles

2–3.5 cm, flat, glossy dark green, with two white stripes underneath. They are dense, point forwards and cover the top of the twig.

Bark

Grey, smooth for a long time, later finely cracked.

Cones

Upright, 12–20 cm, at the top of the crown; they break up on the tree.

Difference from European silver fir

European silver fir has needles in an open comb, with a V-shaped parting along the top of the twig.

Pruning: August–September

Identify by feature: Soft needles

Looks like it, but isn’t

• European silver fir Abies alba: needles in an open comb, with a V-shaped parting along the top of the twig. Difference from European silver fir

Why grow it?

• Beautiful glossy dark green, all year round.
• Needles that don’t prick and stay on for a long time: the most popular Christmas tree.
• A regular, dense, conical tree with branches right down to the ground.
• Tolerates sun and partial shade and isn’t fussy about soil.

Nordmann fir: where does it grow best?

• Sun to partial shade.
• Almost any moisture-retentive, free-draining soil; no waterlogging.
• A sheltered spot, out of dry, cold winds.
• Allow for 25–40 m in height and a crown of about 7 m: don’t plant a Christmas tree right next to the house or the boundary.

Light

Sun or partial shade

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

30 m tall, 7 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Holly: Evergreen with red berries: together a festive winter picture.
• Silver birch: White trunks against the dark green.
• Rhododendron: Flowers in May in the partial shade at the edge.
• Winter heath: Flowers in winter at the sunny foot of the tree.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Like the acid soil under this tree: heather, rhododendron, japanese skimmia, raspberry, highbush blueberry, witch hazel, broom, gorse
• Tolerate the shade under this tree: oregon grape, rhododendron, oleaster, japanese skimmia, garden privet, camellia, laurustinus, box-leaved honeysuckle

Best kept away from

• Sun-loving plants get too little light under the dense crown: english lavender, heather, butterfly bush, blackthorn, highbush blueberry, sea buckthorn, japanese rose, broom

Nordmann fir: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in October–November or in March–April; a Christmas tree after the holidays, in mild weather.
2. Let a Christmas tree acclimatise for a week in a cool garage or on a sheltered patio before planting it outside.
3. A ‘root-balled’ Christmas tree has often been dug up and lost most of its roots; a tree grown in a pot establishes much better.
4. Plant shallowly, with the top of the root ball level with the soil, and water generously.
5. Keep the soil moist in the first year and mulch it.

Care

Watering

In dry spells during the first two years; after that only in long, dry summers.

Feeding

Not needed.

As a Christmas tree

Keep it indoors for as short a time as possible (ideally no more than 10 days), away from radiators, and keep the root ball moist.

Mulch

A layer of wood chips or needles keeps the soil cool and moist.

Tip: Want to plant your Christmas tree in the garden after the holidays? Buy a tree that was grown in a pot rather than a dug-up, root-balled one: it has a much better chance.

Nordmann fir: when to prune it?

Pruning months: August–September.

When: Dead, diseased and broken branches can be removed at any time of year. If pruning is needed, do it in August–September.

How:

• Don’t prune, and never cut off the top to keep it small: the side branches will then grow up crookedly.
• Saw off branches that are too low or in the way completely, back to the trunk.
• If the tree has two leaders, remove the weaker one.

Caution: If it becomes too big for the garden, pruning is no solution: replace it in good time instead.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

Sow fresh seeds in spring after 1–2 months cold and moist. Seedlings grow slowly in the first few years.

Growing on

Christmas trees are raised from seed: it takes about 8–10 years for a tree to reach 2 m.

Nordmann fir: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy.
• Wet snow easily settles on the dense branches: shake young trees.

Diseases and pests

• Woolly aphid: White, woolly tufts on twigs and needles; young shoots curl or discolour. If you like, blast them off with a strong jet of water.
• Late frost: Young shoots get frosted in spring and turn brown; the tree usually sprouts again.
• Root rot: Yellow needles and an ailing tree in soil that stays wet for long periods. Choose a free-draining site.
• Planted-out Christmas tree turns brown: Usually due to too few roots or drought after planting. Water regularly in the first year.

Through the year

• January: Let the Christmas tree acclimatise and plant it out in mild weather.
• March: Planting season.
• May: New growth: watch out for late frost.
• July: Water in dry spells.
• August: Remove branches that are in the way, back to the trunk.
• September: Last month for pruning.
• November: Planting season.
• December: As a Christmas tree: keep it cool and the root ball moist.

What can you use it for?

Also used for

The most popular Christmas tree: hardly drops its needles and isn’t prickly.

Garden and landscape

A planted-out Christmas tree becomes a large tree of 25 m or more: choose the spot with care.

Did you know?

• Native to the Caucasus and Turkey. It hardly drops any needles, hence its success as a Christmas tree.
• It is named after the Finnish naturalist Alexander von Nordmann, who discovered it in the Caucasus in the 19th century.
• In the Ardennes, Christmas trees are grown on a large scale, mostly Nordmann firs.
• Its name honours the Finnish naturalist Alexander von Nordmann, who collected the tree in the Caucasus in the 19th century.
• Much of the seed for Christmas tree growing comes from Georgia, where pickers climb tall wild firs to harvest the cones.