Fir trees are trees that tend to grow a lot, both in width and, above all, in height. But, Did you know that there are smaller varieties that can be planted in small and medium-sized gardens? These are the ones that I am going to show you next.
And it is that if you love conifers, and if you also live in a place where it usually snows in winter, I am almost sure that you will like the different types of fir trees for gardens that you are going to see here.
Abies balsamea ‘Nana’
Image – Wikimedia/Andrew Opejda
He Abies balsamea ‘Nana’ is a type of fir that does not grow as a tree, but rather as a ground cover shrub. It reaches a height of about 40 or 50 centimeters, and a width of more or less one meter. For this reason, it is a very interesting cultivar to plant, for example, on sloping land. Its foliage is green, and it is capable of withstanding temperatures down to -22ºC without difficulty.
Abies concolor ‘Archer’s Dwarf’
This type of garden fir is the perfect option when said garden is very small. It has a pyramidal habit, with a height of 1.5 meters, and the leaves are bluish-glaucous.. Of course, its growth rate is slow, in fact, in the best of cases you will only see that it grows at a rate of 10 centimeters per year. Even so, it has such a high ornamental value that I definitely recommend planting it in the ground and beautifying the area in this way. It is capable of withstanding strong frosts, down to -20ºC.
Abies concolor ‘Hosta La Vista’
Imagen – Flickr/F. D. Richards
When you search for images of fir trees on the Internet, it is normal for the browser to show you very tall trees, but the cultivar that I am going to talk about now is dwarf compared to those specimens that inhabit the forests. In fact, it is difficult for it to exceed 50-60 centimeters in height (the vast majority of fir trees exceed 10, 20 meters). the leaves are bluish-green in color, and if there is anything “less than good” you should know, it is that it only grows about 3-5 centimeters per year. However, it resists frosts of up to -23ºC without problems.
Abies concolor ‘Tubby’
Imagen – Flickr/F. D. Richards
This is a dwarf fir cultivar that could well be mistaken for a young pine. It has a somewhat pyramidal shape, and reaches an approximate height of about 70 centimeters.. The leaves are bluish-green in color, and like those of the rest of the fir trees, they remain on the plant for months until they are renewed. Slow growing, it grows at a rate of about 5-8 centimeters a year, depending on climatic conditions. In this sense, it is interesting to know that it can withstand frosts down to -23ºC.
Abies korea ‘Aurea’
Imagen – Flickr/F. D. Richards
He Korean Abies ‘Aurea’ is a type of fir for the garden with a pyramidal appearance that you can use as a Christmas tree -as long as you keep it outside all year round, since it cannot live indoors-. Reaches a height of approximately 2 meters, and as its name indicates, it has green leaves with yellow reflections. When it is in the best conditions, it can grow at a rate of 15 centimeters per year, and also supports frosts down to -23ºC.
Abies lasiocarpa ‘Arizonica Compacta’
Imagen – Flickr/F. D. Richards
It is a fairly small conifer, since it only grows up to a meter and a half in height.. Although like other firs, this one takes time to reach maturity, if it really feels comfortable in the place it can gain about 15 centimeters a year. As you can see in the image, its leaves are bluish in color, and it has an almost pyramidal appearance, something that is undoubtedly very interesting if you want to add color and elegance to your garden. In addition, it supports frost reasonably well (up to -20ºC).
Abies nordmanniana subsp. nordmanniana ‘Golden Spreader’
Image – Flickr/Leonora (Ellie) Enking
Would you like to have a yellow (and healthy) fir? So I recommend this cultivar Abies nordmanniana. Slow growing, it reaches approximately 2 meters in height. (although it is normal that it stays a little below it). The leaves are yellowish with green reflections. It is a type of small conifer that you can have in your garden if the climate is temperate or in the mountains, since it resists frost down to -22ºC.
Abies veitchii ‘Heddergott’
This is a cultivar Abies veitchii which I personally love. Unfortunately the picture above doesn’t do it justice. But it is a beautiful plant, with a more or less rounded shape, with green leaves on the upper side and whitish on the underside. It reaches a height of 1 meter or 1.5 meters and reaches more or less the same width.. It can be very interesting to use it as an informal hedge, for example, although it also looks great in dwarf and/or medium coniferous rockeries. It resists frosts down to -20ºC.
Did you know these types of fir trees for a small/medium garden? Which one did you like the most?
