Photo: Elbert L. Little, Jr., U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and others, Public domain · source

Tree · Pinaceae

White fir

Abies concolor

In other languages: Coloradospar (Nederlands) · Sapin du Colorado (Français)

The white fir is a fir from the mountains of western North America, from Oregon and the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico. It is a large, conical conifer with strikingly long, soft needles in blue-grey to silvery green, which smell of citrus when crushed. In a garden it grows up to 25 m tall and 8 m wide, although it grows rather slowly in its first years. Gardeners value it for its colour, its regular shape and because it tolerates heat and drought better than other firs. A well-known cultivar is ‘Violacea’, with silvery blue needles; for small gardens there is the dwarf form ‘Compacta’.

Updated on 9 October 2026

Light
Sun or partial shade
preferably some sun
Moisture
Dry to normal
no wet feet
Legal basis
Sand, loam or clay
any pH
Hardiness
Fully hardy
down to -35 °C
Size
25 m
tall, 8 m wide

Key facts
Pruning months	March
Height	25 m
Native to Belgium	No, planted
Poisonous to people and pets	Not known to be poisonous

Identify

White fir: how do you recognise it?

Habit: Regular, broad cone with horizontal branches in whorls; 15–25 m tall and 5–8 m wide in gardens.
Needles: Flat, 4–7 cm long, soft and slightly upcurved, blue-grey on both sides; they smell of citrus when crushed.
Cones: Upright, 8–12 cm, greenish to purplish, near the top of older trees; they break up on the tree.
Bark: Smooth and grey with resin blisters on young trees, later thick and deeply furrowed.
Roots: Deep-rooting: the tree stands firm, but transplants poorly once it is large.

Plants: April–May and September–October · Pruning: March

In your garden

Why grow it?

One of the finest blue-grey conifers, all year round.
Long, soft needles that smell of citrus when crushed.
Tolerates heat and drought better than other firs.
A regular conical shape without any pruning: a superb specimen tree for a large garden.
Its dense branches give shelter and nesting sites to birds.

White fir: where does it grow best?

Sun to light partial shade; in sun the colour is best and the growth densest.
Sand, loam or clay, acid to chalky, but always well drained: it cannot stand wet feet.
Fairly dry to normally moist; once established it copes well with drought.
Plant it at least 5 m from the house and well away from the boundary: allow for 8 m of width. For a small garden, choose a dwarf form.
An open spot where it can reach its full width; the lower branches will then stay right down to the ground.

Light: Sun and partial shade
Soil type: Sand, loam or clay
Acidity: Not fussy
Moisture: Dry or normal
Size: 25 m tall, 8 m wide
Hardiness: Hardy (to -35 °C)

Goes well with

Silver birch: White trunks and yellow autumn leaves against the blue-grey needles.
Japanese maple: Red or orange autumn foliage as a contrast in the foreground.
Rhododendron: A flowering evergreen shrub for the same spot, where the soil is acid.
Snowy mespilus: White spring flowers and orange autumn colour at the edge of the planting.
Winter heath: Low, evergreen and flowering in winter, beneath a dwarf form.

Maintenance

White fir: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May and September–October.

Plant in April–May or in September–October, when the soil is moist and not frozen.
Buy a young tree in a pot or root-balled: small trees establish best.
Dig a planting hole twice as wide as the root ball but no deeper, and loosen the bottom and sides.
Set the tree at the same depth as before, with the root collar at ground level, and backfill with the soil you dug out.
Water straight away with a large bucket of water and spread a mulch of bark or wood chips around the base, not against the trunk.
Tie a larger tree to an angled stake for its first few years to protect it from the wind.

Care

Water: For the first two years, water generously every week in dry spells. After that it rarely needs extra water.
Feeding: Usually not needed. On poor sandy soil, a little compost around the tree in April.
Mulching: A layer of bark or wood chips keeps the soil cool and moist and suppresses weeds.
Grass: For the first few years keep a 1 m circle around the trunk free of grass: it competes for water.
Leader: Leave the leading shoot alone; if it forms two leaders, remove the weaker one.

Tip: Give it an open, sunny spot where it can reach its full width, and the lower branches will stay right down to the ground. Crush a needle between your fingers: the citrus scent gives away a white fir at once.

White fir: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March.

When: Pruning is hardly needed: it forms a fine cone on its own. If something does need doing, do it in March, before the new shoots break.

How:

If it forms two leaders, cut out the weaker one at its base.
Remove dead or broken branches back to the trunk, just outside the branch collar.
Never cut back into bare, old wood: a fir will not regrow from there.

Caution: Never cut off the leading shoot: the tree will develop a crooked, flat crown and recover only slowly. Lower branches you remove will not grow back.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed: Seed needs a cold spell of a few weeks, for example in moist sand in the fridge. Then sow in spring in a tray outdoors. The seedlings grow slowly and differ in colour from the parent tree.
Grafting: Cultivars such as ‘Violacea’ are grafted by nurseries onto a seedling; for the home gardener this is difficult.

White fir: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −35 °C.

Fully hardy, to about −35 °C: no protection is needed in Belgium.
Heavy, wet snow can break branches; gently shake it off young trees.
A dwarf form in a large pot: put the pot in a sheltered place and water now and then in dry winter weather, as the needles lose moisture in winter too.

Diseases and pests

Woolly aphids: White, woolly tufts on the twigs and needles, sometimes with yellowing needles. Hose them off with water; a healthy tree rarely suffers much.
Root rot: Brown needles and dying branches on wet, poorly drained soil. Always plant it in a well-drained spot; an affected tree seldom recovers.
Red spider mite: Fine speckling and greyish brown needles in hot, dry summers. Spray the tree with water in dry spells.
Late frost: Can turn the young shoots brown in May. The tree usually recovers in the course of the year; do not plant it in a hollow where cold air collects.
Drought damage: Brown needles on young trees in dry summers. Water regularly for the first few years.

Through the year

January: Rest. Shake wet snow off young trees.
March: If needed, remove a double leader or dead branches.
April: Planting. Apply mulch; a little compost on poor soil.
May: Planting. The young shoots break; watch out for late frost.
June: Water young trees in dry spells.
July: Water in dry spells. Watch out for red spider mite.
August: Water young trees in dry spells.
September: Planting. Keep the ground around young trees free of grass.
October: Planting. Water once more if the autumn is dry.
December: Rest. Fully hardy, no protection needed.

You and this species

Did you know?

The name concolor means ‘of one colour’: the needles are equally blue-grey on both sides, whereas many other firs have white bands only on the underside.
As with all firs, the cones stand upright and break up on the tree: so you will rarely find an intact cone on the ground.
In North America it is a popular Christmas tree, because it holds its needles well and smells pleasant.

Garden plants · All species