Facts About Abies Concolor Conifers

Appearance

• The typical Abies concolor has numerous spreading branches on a ramrod straight trunk. The bark on mature stems has a smooth texture and a gray-white color that turns yellow with a green tint as you progress toward the current season's growth. The needles of the tree are dark green with a blue tint and tend to curve upward from their stems which droop on the lower half of the tree. The lower branches often droop to the ground and form a dense cover that prevents other plants from growing beneath the foliage.

Growth Habits

• Young trees have a narrow growth habit that fills out near the bottom of the tree as it matures. The overall shape of the Abies concolor is pyramidal with a narrow base that usually spreads between 20 and 30 feet in diameter. Exceptional specimens of the Abies concolor can grow up to 100 feet tall, but the average height for this species is 50 to 70 feet. The white fir produces cylindrical green cones that turn brown as they reach their mature length of 4 to 5 inches. These cones grow on the top one-third of the tree and break apart to release their seeds when they reach their full size.

Pests and Diseases

• Several pests can cause minor damage to white fir trees. Some of the more common pests include bagworms, scale insects, spider mites and balsam twig aphids. In most cases, infestations of these insects only cause minor damage and are not a serious threat to the health of the tree. White fir trees are also affected by diseases including blight of the needles and twigs, fungal rusts, root rots and fungal cankers. Root rots and fungal cankers can kill entire branches or trees, but are rarely a problem unless the tree is weakened by lack of nutrients or water. In most cases a healthy white fir tree can resist the affects of infections if it is properly watered during dry weather.

Growing White Fir

• White fir trees grow best in moist soils that drain quickly and have a loamy texture that provides ample amounts of nutrient-rich organic matter. White firs do not grow well on wet sites where the roots are soaked in water for extended periods of time or on heavy soils that are mostly made of clay. Soils with a pH rating above 8 are also a poor growing medium for white firs. The trees can adapt to locations with full or partial exposure to sunlight during the day. The roots of the white fir can adapt to shallow or rocky soils by growing a shallow but broad root system.