Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.

Abies lasiocarpa in typical habitat in Canada. Image Henrik Sjöman.

Abies lasiocarpa ripening seed cones. Russian Peak, California, September 2009. Image Jeff Bisbee.

Abies lasiocarpa disintegrating seed cones. Russian Peak, California, September 2007. Image Jeff Bisbee.

Abies lasiocarpa and Picea engelmanii on the Paradise Divide, Colorado, July 2003. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Abies lasiocarpa habitat at Russian Peak, California, September 2007. Image Abies lasiocarpa disintegrating seed cones. Russian Peak, California, September 2007..

Abies lasiocarpa habitat in the Marble (Klamath) Mountains, NW California. November 2012. Image Jeff Bisbee.

Abies lasiocarpa ascending to the tree line in the Marble (Klamath) Mountains, NW California. November 2012. Image Jeff Bisbee.

Abies lasiocarpa bole. Russian Peak, California, September 2007. Image Jeff Bisbee.

Abies lasiocarpa bark on a young tree in Box Canyon Park, Ouray County, Colorado. July 2003. Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

An unexpectedly good young Abies lasiocarpa 13 m tall at Common Farm, Semer, Suffolk, UK, in July 2016. The local microclimate is dry and hot, with an average rainfall of little more than 600 mm and summer temperatures often exceeding 30°C. Image Owen Johnson.

Abies lasiocarpa is a difficult tree to cultivate in Europe. In Aberdeen's Cruickshank Botanic Garden, summers seem sufficiently cool and dry to suit it, at least for a few decades. June 2018. Image Owen Johnson.

'Argentea'

Probably a selection of var. arizonica, this forms a neat, small, conical tree of dense growth with strikingly blue leaves, to 3 × 1 m in ten years. Selected from the wild before 1901 (Auders & Spicer 2012). ‘Compacta’ is similar, but slower and bluer; ‘Kenwith Blue’ is similar yet again, and probably an improvement on ‘Compacta’.

'Compacta'

Though its name suggests a small stature ‘Compacta’ is certainly not a dwarf: it ultimately forms a large shrub or small tree of slow, compact growth, eventually several meters tall and broad. There is a superb example at the Dawes Arboretum in Ohio (Hatch 2021–2022).

Abies lasiocarpa 'Compacta' forming an attractive dense shape in the Dry Garden at RHS Garden Hyde Hall (March 2022). Image John Grimshaw.

Abies lasiocarpa 'Compacta' in the Dry Garden at RHS Garden Hyde Hall (March 2022). Image John Grimshaw.

A young specimen at The Priory, Charlbury, Oxfordshire; May 2009. Image Owen Johnson.

'Conica'

Barely distinct in its description from the likes of ‘Argentea’, ‘Compacta’, and ‘Kenwith Blue’, it is treated here on account of its pedigree: it was selected at the Arnold Arboretum from the batch of seed sent from Colorado by Parry in 1873 (Auders & Spicer 2012).

Dwarf Cultivars

The following selections typically remain below 1 m after ten years, and most are also characterised by very slow growth. Most are the domain of specialist growers, but the more widely available ones have a place on the rock or scree garden in suitable climates.

• ‘Beano Broom’ As its name suggests, this selection was propagated from a witches broom and forms a small bun, to just 30 × 40 cm after ten years.
• ‘Beissneri’ Raised in Germany before 1901, this is a dwarf selection with a proportion of leaves sickle-shaped and twisted, revealing their white undersides.
• ‘Cvikov’ An extreme dwarf of compact, spreading habit, to 20 × 50 cm after ten years. It was raised from a witches’ broom found in Czechia before 2004.
• ‘Day Creek’ (‘Witches’ Broom’) Introduced by the Wells Nursery, Washington, this dwarf selection forms a conical plant of moderate vigour, to 60 × 45 cm in ten years.
• ‘DuFlon’ (‘Duflon’) One of the smallest Abies cultivars known, this miniscule plant may remain below 15 ×15 cm after ten years. It was propagated from a wild tree, discovered near Lake Cushman on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula by A. DuFlon in 1954. It was introduced to commerce by Lohbrunner.
• ‘Green Globe’ A small, slow growing plant of globose habit, and needles much greener than is typically the case. To 75 × 75 cm in ten years.
• ‘Hans Christa’ Raised in Germany before 2006 by J. Kohout, Auders & Spicer describe this as a ‘choice’ dwarf of very slow growth, to 20 × 20 cm in ten years.
• ‘Joe’s Alpine’ A compact dwarf characterised by a high proportion of upright shoots. To 30 × 30 cm in ten years.
• ‘Kyle’s Alpine’ An extreme dwarf to 30 × 30 cm in ten years. Introduced by the Stanley & Sons nursery in Oregon c. 2009.
• ‘Logan Pass’ (‘Glacier’) A conical dwarf propagated from a witches’ broom found on a wild tree near Logan Pass, USA, in 1976. To 40 × 25 cm in ten years.
• ‘Lopalpun’ A selection of very compact growth, developing into a low mound that grows wider than tall. To 25 × 40 cm in ten years.
• ‘Mulligan’s Dwarf’ Raised as a seedling in the US c. 1979, this selection forms a small, globose bush of upright habit, to 75 × 75 cm in ten years.
• ‘Prickly Pete’ Propagated from a plant found in the USA during the 1990s, this rather charming selection forms a columnar dwarf tree with typical (i.e. disproportionately long) leaves.
• ‘Stanley’ Raised in the early 2000s by the Stanley & Sons Nursery of Oregon, this blue-leaved selection forms a compact bun to 30 × 30 cm in ten years.
• ‘Steven’s Blue’ Another introduction by Stanley & Sons Nursery of Oregon, this is very like ‘Stanley’ but with leaves more vividly blue.
• ‘Toenisvorst’ (‘Tonismeyer’; ‘Meyer’) A small, pyramidal to globose plant of rather irregular growth, to 50 × 40 cm after thirty years. It is distinguished by its dark green needles which are atypical for the species: Auders & Spicer say it was raised from a seedling in a German collection, so an open-mind should be kept as to its true parentage.
• ‘Utah’ A miniscule bun of extremely slow growth, ultimately forming a very small, flat-topped mound.

(Auders & Spicer 2012)

A good compact selection of Abies lasiocarpa at Foggy Bottom, Bressingham, Norfolk, UK; July 2016. Image Owen Johnson.

'Kenwith Blue'

A remarkably robust selection raised in the UK by Don Hatch during the 1970s. It forms an upright, pyramidal tree of modest growth, to 1.5 × 0.8 m after ten years. It is set apart by its vividly blue leaves which are retained on branches until they are fully shaded out (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Martha's Vineyard'

This selection was raised at the Polly Hill Arboretum, MA. It forms a compact, pyramidal tree of moderate growth, to 1.5 m in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012).

'Pendula'

Selected in cultivation in modern Czechia c. 1909, this selection reportedly grows to the same size as normal forms of the species, but has remarkably pendulous branches (Auders & Spicer 2012).

var. arizonica (Merriam) Lemm.

A southern vicariant of the type found at high altitude in the southern Rocky Mountains, the Corkbark Fir is so-named for its thick, corky, yellowish or whitish-grey bark as a mature tree. Its needles also have broader stomatal bands below, and the central band of stomata above is much more prominent than in the type, giving var. arizonica foliage a much more glaucous hue and aiding its identification. It entered cutlivation when Dr. Purpus introduced it to the Darmstadt Botanic Gardens, Germany, in about 1900 (Jacobson 1996). It was cultivated in the eastern United States by 1901 when it was offered for sale by Pinehurst Nurseries in North Carolina, and stocked by Moser’s Nursery at Versailles by 1903 (Elwes & Henry 1906–1913), the same year it arrived in Britain (Bean 1976). Various authors on both sides of the Atlantic have noted that it is superior to the type in cultivation, Jacobson (1996) calling it ‘a more adaptable, and prettier version’. Mitchell (1972) said it forms ‘a neat, narrow tree, much more healthy than the type’ and likened the narrow spire-like crown to that of Picea omorika.

Nevertheless it remains rare and somewhat under-represented, with few if any introductions to collections having been made in recent years. There is a tree of unknown height × 0.41 m dbh (in 2019) at the Pinetum Blijdenstein in the Netherlands. Mitchell (1972) gave the best tree as ‘a fine dark blue spire’ 18 m × 0.48 m dbh at Highclere, Hampshire, a measurement presumably considerably older than that publication, for the same tree had increased to 23 m × 0.48 m dbh by 1978 – an impossible rate of growth for this species, and indeed for most others. Mitchell further noted three with ‘candelabra crowns’ from 15–17 m at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire. The Hergest trees are long since gone, apparently so too the Highclere tree, for The Tree Register now assigns champion status to a tree growing in a private garden in North Yorkshire, 17 m in 2019 (Tree Register 2020).

Bean (1976) hinted at, and inadvertently caused, some confusion in his discussion of this taxon when he said ‘the name A. lasiocarpa is sometimes used erroneously for A. concolor var. lowiana’. No evidence of this confusion between scientific names could be found, and the two species would be quite difficult to confuse, but the common name ‘Corkbark Fir’ is sometimes applied to A. concolor var. lowiana, and this is likely what Bean was referring to.

A typically glaucous Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica thriving in the relatively cold climate at Ashmore House, Perthshire, Scotland. September 2020. Image Tom Christian.

Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica foliage. Image Jeff Bisbee.

Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica 12.5 m tall at the Bodenham Arboretum, Worcestershire, UK, April 2019. In the local climate, this fir seems unlikely to remain so healthy for very much longer. Image Owen Johnson.