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Compact White Fir

Abies concolor (A-bees KON-kol-or)

Family: Pinaceae Unknown Shrub (3-15 ft)

Compact White Fir is a dwarf cultivar of the white fir and belongs to the pine family (Pinaceae). As the parent is native to the mountains of the western USA, it will require cool summers and long winter conditions It has a dense compact and irregular form growing only 3-6 feet tall and 3-6 feet wide. It can be left to its natural irregular shape or be pruned round or conical. It grows slowly and does best in full sun to part shade in moist rich well-drained soils. Avoid heavy clay, wet sites and humid conditions. The needles have a lovely blue-green color and the upright cones are brown to purple. The blue color contrasts nicely with greener plants. Use in a rock garden, in the border, as a specimen, as a foundation plant or even in a container. This tree won the Award of Garden of Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society. Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems: Relatively problem-free. Watch for aphids. See pests of conifers to the left. More information on Abies concolor .

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 49 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 3 - Shrub (3-15 ft) Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

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 with Abies concolor Abies koreana
Fills a similar niche Abies concolor Campanula persicifolia Syringa pubescens subsp. pubescens

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Shrub; Tree
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
Light
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
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
12 inches-3 feet; 3 feet-6 feet
NC region
Mountains
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 6 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Columnar; Dense
Texture
Coarse
Foliage
Needled Evergreen
Leaf color
Blue; Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Needles
Leaf shape
Linear
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Prickly
Leaf value
Long-lasting; Showy
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
This plant has 2- to 3-inch attractive, sickle-shaped needles. The needles can be powder blue, blue-green, bright green, or gray-blue.
Flower detail
No Flowers
Fruit color
Brown/Copper; Purple/Lavender
Fruit size
> 3 inches long
Fruit detail
Cones 3 to 6 inches long, upright, brown-purple, appearing on the branches after the plant is 40 or more years old.
Bark color
Light Gray
Bark detail
Smooth ash-gray bark furrows with age.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Wildlife value
Deer resistant
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Lawn; Small Space
Landscape theme
Cottage Garden; Rock Garden
Design feature
Accent; Border; Foundation Planting
Garden tags
#conifer #blue needles #small shrub #full sun tolerant #evergreen #mounding #deer resistant #native shrub #partial shade tolerant #garden of merit award #blue leaves #compact
Problems & Resistance
Insect problems
Pests of Conifers
Resistant to
Deer
Particularly resistant to
Rarely browsed by deer.

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.