Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis Canaan Fir Seedling

The Canaan fir is a beautiful, cold-hardy tree native to the Appalachian Mountains, extending from Virginia and West Virginia to New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and southern Quebec. It was named after the Canaan Valley near Elkins, West Virginia, where it was first discovered and identified.
Its pyramidal form, with graceful, upswept branches, makes it a perfect accent tree in a garden, meadow, or open woodland, and its classic shape makes it an excellent choice as an outdoor Christmas tree. When planted in a row, the tree is also attractive as a border, screen, or windbreak.
Canaan fir’s soft, fragrant, dark green needles are flat, about an inch long, and have two white, longitudinal stripes on their undersides. Its buds emerge later than most other firs, making it less susceptible to frost damage, and the needles retain their green color throughout the year, including winter. Upright, purple seed cones develop on the tree’s topmost branches in late summer, and in fall, they turn brown and drop their scales. This tree grows at a moderate rate of 12 inches per year, reaching 12 feet × 4 feet in 10 years, and can grow to 55 feet × 25 feet at maturity. It is a good cover for songbirds and is fairly deer-resistant once established.
Canaan fir is a cold-hardy tree that thrives in USDA zones 3-8, growing in full sun to partial shade, preferably in a sheltered location. It does best in sandy or loamy soil that is loose, well-draining, and acidic. It can also tolerate wet soil, making it an ideal tree for low, damp areas, such as rain gardens. Canaan fir does not thrive in areas with low humidity and hot, dry summers or urban environments with high pollution levels.
Companions need to have growing conditions similar to Canaan fir, which requires sun to partial shade and acidic, well-draining soil. Hemlock and hollies, boxwoods, and yews are a perfect choice. Azaleas, rhododendrons, and mountain laurels are a lovely contrast of textures and colors, especially when they bloom in the spring. Blueberry bushes thrive in the same conditions as Canaan fir and will attract pollinators with their small, fragrant flowers. Ferns do well and add a rustic look, and coral bells, astilbe, lithodora, lilyturf, and wild ginger add spots of color around the tree. Spring bulbs, such as crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, snowdrops, glory-of-the-snow, and Siberian squill liven up the base of the tree with their jaunty, springtime flowers.