Abies nordmanniana - Nordmann Firs

Nordmann Fir is native to the Caucasus Mountains of Russia, Armenia, Georgia, and northeastern Turkey. It is a densely pyramidal tree with glossy, flattened, 1.25” long, dark green-black needles with two white stripes on their lower sides. The reddish-brown, 6” long seed cones sit upright on the branches and disintegrate at seed dispersal, leaving a central spike on the branch. Abies nordmanniana grows 12” to 24” a year, reaching 10’-20’ high in 10 years and 35’-50’H × 15’-25’W at maturity in a landscape setting, and up to 200’ high in the wild. It grows in USDA zones 5 to 8 in full sun to partial shade in rich, moist, acidic, well-draining soil.
The Nordmann, or Caucasian, Fir is a broadly pyramidal tree native to the Black Sea areas of Turkey, Georgia, and the Russian Caucasus. Its pleasing, regular shape and dense branching to the ground make it an excellent Christmas and landscape tree that is easy to transplant and grow. It was named after Alexander Davidovic von Nordmann, a Finnish naturalist, who discovered the tree growing in the Caucasus in 1836.
Nordmann Fir grows quickly, at 12”-24” per year, reaching 10’-20’ in 10 years and 35’-50’ at maturity in a landscape setting. Its soft, flattened, dark green needles are 1.25” long, with two white stripes underneath. Six-inch cones sit upright on the branches, changing from yellow-green to purplish-brown and disintegrating in the fall when the seeds mature, leaving bare spikes on the branches. It provides good cover and a nesting place for birds, and small animals love to feast on the seeds in the fall. It is deer- and rabbit-resistant but is not pollution-tolerant and should not be planted in urban or high-pollution areas.
Nordmann Fir is a popular choice as a Christmas tree since it holds onto its needles indoors, and is also an attractive landscape planting when grown within its 4-7 hardiness zone range. It is grown commercially for packaging, construction, and paper production, in addition to Christmas trees.
Nordmann Fir grows in full sun to bright partial shade in rich, moist, acidic, well-draining soil. It does well in loam or clay amended with compost for good drainage. Water the tree well at planting and then regularly for a year until the roots are established. This tree grows best in areas with cool summers and does not do well in the hot, humid summers south of its 4-7 hardiness range.
Companion plants need to have growing conditions similar to the fir, from full sun to partial shade and acidic, well-draining soil. Rhododendrons, azaleas, mountain laurels, hollies, dogwoods, and serviceberries are attractive when planted nearby, providing color and texture against the dark green of the tree. Shrubs, such as abelias, weigelas, bottlebrush buckeyes, Japanese andromedas, viburnums, hydrangeas, and burning bushes, offer colorful blooms in the spring and contrasting colors all growing season.
Perennials, like astilbe, ferns, bleeding hearts, Hakone grass, coral bells, foamflowers, lungworts, columbines, lily-of-the-valley, lithodoras, liriopes, Virginia bluebells, and foxgloves, lend a woodsy note. And groundcovers, such as hostas, periwinkle, creeping phlox, bugle, dead nettle, and stonecrops, provide a colorful, flowering carpet around the base of the tree.