Plant of the Day: Frazier fir - Abies fraseri
Photo of Frazier fir - Abies fraseri

Photo courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden

Frazier Fir


This conifer is a bit rare in nature but easily found at holiday time. Growers of Christmas trees favor it for its closely spaced branches that lift slightly upward and for its long-lasting needles, which are green above and white-striped below. In the landscape it contributes a pyramidal silhouette, a prickly texture, and evergreen color. You will see trees labeled Frazier fir or Fraser fir. Same tree, different spelling.


Its native range is the cool, high elevations of the Appalachian Mountains where it grows on moist, well-drained soils. There it’s usually a small tree, but in the milder conditions of a landscape at lower elevations it can reach 50 feet tall. It’s not happy in warm, humid regions south of Zone 7. The Fraser fir is closely related to the balsam fir (Abies balsamea). Both have blisters in the bark that bear a sticky, fragrant, liquid resin. The two species also have similar ranges.


Mature trees bear upright purple cones that look shaggy with scales and persist for half a year before disintegrating. There are other attractions. Sharp-eyed nurserymen have found mutated forms of this species, including one that grows in the shape of a column, another with blue needles and several dwarfs.


By Mark Kane - the Groundskeeper, YourGardenShow.com

Copyright © 2012 YourGardenShow.com

Want to read more about this plant and other varieties? Click here for the Frazier fir - Abies fraseri Plant Page!

Plant Photo Tagging - How it Works

Video by Tom Finerty, founder YourGardenShow.com

Plant Photo Tagging allows you to turn any garden photo into a rich tapestry of what you have planted. It’s fun, informative, and helpful to others visiting your garden. As you photo tag, you can easily add plant names from our database and/or make notes about anything you’d like. To get started, sign-in and go to your Garden.


Click on any image in your garden's slideshow Carousel to get to full-view mode. Click on the “Tag” icon just below your photo and you are ready to tag! Simply click and drag your mouse over a plant or area you’d like to highlight or tag. A pop-up box will appear and ask for either a plant name or a note - add one or both, then click “tag” and you’ve just tagged your garden!


Write and tell us your suggestion for a "How it Works" video:
how-it-works@yourgardenshow.com


For more info contact: help@yourgardenshow.com

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Plant of the Day archive

Siberian squill

Snowdrop

Douglas fir

Norway spruce

Common Lilac 'Marie Frances'

Common Lilac 'Wedgwood Blue'

Manchurian lilac 'Miss Kim'

Red mulberry

White spruce

Striped squill

Scotch pine

Frazier fir

Colorado Spruce

Hardy Pecan

Asparagus

Beet

Brussels Sprouts

Globe Artichoke 'Imperial Star'

American Hazelnut

Black Alder

Seven-son flower

European larch

Maidenhair tree

Butterfly weed

Creeping Zinnia

Garlic 'Spanish Roja'

Garlic 'Georgia Fire'

Garlic 'Persian Star'

Garlic 'Asian Tempest'

Aster 'Monch'

Aster 'Purple Dome'

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Beans

Corn

Pumpkin

Gourd

Sargent crabapple, Sargent

Gooseberry

Dwarf pear

American chestnut

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Black walnut

Potato

Smooth Sumac

Juniper

Clematis - Nelly Moser

Clematis durandii

American elderberry

Russian arbor-vitae

Resurrection lily

Sweet Potato

Sedum

Blackberry

Cucumber

Mache

Japanese falsecypress

Sweet Autumn Clematis

Japanese Anemone

Carrots

Hot Peppers

Cilantro

Okra

Peppers 'Cal Wonder Orange'

'Cherry Pink' Tomatoes