Balsam Fir is an evergreen conifer in the pine (Pinaceae) family. It is native to Eastern Canada and south to the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia. The common name and specific epithet come from the bark and cones producing a lot of sap or balsam. Balsam fir will grow 40 to 70 feet tall and 15 to 25 feet wide. Grow it in full sun with moist, well-drained acidic soil. Its form is symmetrical, narrow, pyramidal to conical with a spire-like crown. The tree is not suited for the southeast heat and humidity Its needles are aromatic when crushed and have two white stomal bands on the undersides. The cones appear upright on branches in the fall. It is popular as a Christmas tree because of its handsome shape and long retention of needles. Its evergreen needles provide structure to the landscape and interest in the winter months. Insects Diseases and Other Plant Problems: Fairly problem-free. Balsam woolly adelgids, bark beetles, spruce budworms, aphids, bagworms, and scale. Spider mites may occur in hot conditions. Disease problems include cankers, heart rot, root rot, needle rust, and twig blight. Trees are intolerant of urban pollution.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Often confused withAbies balsamea var. phanerolepisAbies fraseri
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
24-60 feet; more than 60 feet
Mature size
Height: 40 ft. 0 in. - 70 ft. 0 in. | Width: 15 ft. 0 in. - 25 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Columnar; Conical; Erect; Pyramidal
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Needled Evergreen
Leaf color
Green; White
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Other/more complex; Whorled
Leaf shape
Linear
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf value
Fragrant
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Needles are dense, directed forward and upward, 1 inch long, apex rounded or lightly notched, deep green above, two white, longitudinal bands below. Has a strong balsam fragrance when crushed.
Flower detail
Non-flowering, cone producing
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Fruit detail
Does not produce fruits. Cylindrical, resinous seed cones erect, small, 2.5 to 4 inches long, appear at the crown of tree. They release seeds in early autumn, and scales fall away leaving the bare center of the cone, which may remain on the tree for several years.
Bark color
Dark Brown; Dark Gray
Bark detail
Smooth and gray with resin blisters when young but brown-gray, rough, fissured and scaly as it ages