4 Best Types of Fir Trees to Fill Your Winter Garden With Gorgeous Green Foliage

There are many evergreens that can add year-round beauty to the landscape, but picking one of the common types of fir trees is an easy recipe for success. Sure, fir species won’t delight you with fancy spring flowers or offer fiery fall colors like some deciduous varieties. But they are outstanding landscape trees in so many other ways.

Their soft needles and rounded shapes are appealing year in, year out and their upright cones add to their exceptional beauty that lasts through all four seasons. Fir types come in a variety of sizes from lofty to compact, so you’ll definitely find one that fits your needs.

If you are considering adding a couple coniferous trees to your yard, I’ve put together a short list of the best types of fir trees for you to consider. Here are my top types to grow for a stunning year-round show.

What Are Fir Trees?

Fir trees are magnificent conifers, tall, with soft, needle-like leaves. They are native to cooler areas in the Northern Hemisphere, including the United States, Europe, North Africa and Asia.

All true fir tree varieties are in the Abies genus, which includes some 50 species. This classification, however, excludes a couple coniferous trees with "fir" in their common name that are not actually part of the Abies genus. Douglas fir and hemlock fir are two examples. But these evergreen tree varieties are not true firs.

Firs are a beautiful addition to the landscape with their tall, conical growing habit and upright cones. You can distinguish true firs from other conifers by their distinct features, which I'll discuss below.

Unique Features of Fir Trees

Fir trees are in the Pinaceae family, together with many other conifers, including pine, spruce, and hemlock. They can be distinguished from the others by their unique features.

You can identify a fir tree by its needles, trunk, and cones:

• The needles are a vibrant green, arranged in a spiral and attaching singly to the branches in an arrangement that looks like a small suction cup.
• Spruce needles appear in pairs and pine needles in clusters.
• The trunks are straight and tall, with the branches forming a conical or pyramid shape.
• The cones are exceptional, soft and held upright on the branches like candles. Other conifers have cones that droop or dangle.

Different Types of Fir Trees

Here are four of my favorite types of fir trees. They all provide evergreen beauty and elegance that will elevate any landscape.

1. Fraser Fir

You may recognize this fir with its gorgeous color, sweet fragrance, and perfect pyramidal shape from the Christmas tree lot. Yes, Fraser firs are Christmas incarnate, often used for holiday trees, wreaths, and garlands. The Fraser fir is generally compact with a conical crown and branches that angle slightly upwards.

Frasers grow to 50 feet tall (16 m) with a trunk up to 20 inches (50 cm) in diameter. The needles are flat and dark green on top with two silver backs beneath. Look for dark purple cones to appear in fall, turning brown as they mature. The bark starts out smooth, but gets craggy as it matures.

Plant your Fraser fir in full sun or part sun and acidic soil. Cover in summer is crucial to its development, providing a cooling effect. It will get some 8-10 (20-25 cm) inches taller every year until it tops out around 50 feet (16 m) tall.

Shop Fraser fir saplings from Regrowth Nursery on Etsy.

2. Korean Fir

If you are looking for a smaller fir with high ornamental value, consider the Korean fir tree. It's native to the mountains of South Korea and is an utterly lovely decorative tree, beloved around the world as an addition to gardens.

The Korean fir only grows up to 30 feet (10 m) tall and many top out at half that height. It has a beautiful symmetrical shape with a conical outline and will live around 30 years. The branches are densely packed with flat, shiny needles that are dark green on top with two vivid bands below. Cones are purple-blue when young, growing darker with maturity.

This tree needs a full sun location and well-draining, acidic soil. It is a thirsty tree, so provide extra irrigation except during the rainy season.

If you need something even smaller, check out the short variety, Abies koreana 'Compact Dwarf'. It only reaches around 5 feet (1.5 m) tall and 3 feet (1 m) wide. Or add unique yellow color to your evergreen garden with an Abies koreana 'Aurea' from Etsy.

3. Noble Fir

This species is an iconic tree of the Pacific Northwest. In the wild, the noble fir is a true giant of the forest, towering over all others at 225 feet (70 m) tall and literally scraping the sky. However, when cultivated in a home garden, the standard height is 50 feet (16 m) tall. In either situation, however, the noble fir exhibits a beautifully symmetrical branch structure

With dramatic blue-green needles and a tall, straight trunk – some growing up to 6 feet (2 m) in diameter – the noble fir is an icon of resilience. It survives and thrives in the wild coastal ranges of North America. Beyond its good looks, this tree is crucial to the ecosystem because it supports wildlife and provides valuable timber. Young trees have smooth, gray bark that turns mahogany as it matures.

This type of fir needs a sunny location and well-drained, loamy soils to prosper. In ideal conditions, it survives windy conditions and it makes an impressive and effective wind break.

Shop noble fir seedlings from Scenic Hill Farm on Etsy.

4. California Red Fir

In California, we call this majestic tree the California red fir, but it's also known as red fir or silvertip fir. This huge evergreen tree grows up to 210 feet (70 m) tall with a 6-8 foot (2-3 m) trunk diameter. It is native to the Sierra Nevada mountains. The “red” in the common name comes from the orange-red bark color of mature trees, but young trees have smooth, grey bark.

The crown of the California red fir is narrow and conical. The needles are blue-green and curve upward at the tip making the foliage look lush and full. Indeed, the tree is admired for its ornamental qualities – the gorgeous bark and unique foliage. Cones are erect and yellow-green, ripening to brown.

If you wish to grow a California red fir, be sure you have the space and site it needs. These firs require full sun exposure and well-drained soils. It will be a fabulous addition to a large garden landscape.

This unusual, yet absolutely stunning evergreen can be a bit difficult to find. But you can buy California red fir seeds from Etsy to plant your own trees.