# Grand Fir (Abies grandis)

> Grand fir, Abies grandis: a large tree of 90 to 100 feet where planted, for zones 4 to 9, how fast it grows, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/grand-fir/

![Tall, straight trunks of old grand firs in an open forest with a green understory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/grand-fir-1000.jpg?v=7071635c "Old grand firs near Mottet Creek in the Umatilla National Forest, Oregon. Trees 250 years old are common, and occasional trees may pass 300.")
*Photo: Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service, [Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAbies_grandis_oldtrees.jpg) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAbies_grandis_oldtrees.jpg))*

Large tree, 90 to 100 feet where planted, zones 4 to 9; full sun, part shade or shade; dry or average ground.

We do not grow grand fir, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

## At a glance

| Fact | Grand Fir |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Lowland white fir, yellow fir, giant fir, lowland fir, California great fir, Oregon white fir, Puget Sound fir, great silver fir, stinking fir |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 90 to 100 where planted; up to 267 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 25 |
| Zones | 4 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value |
| Pollen | March to June |
| Fruit | Cones, August to October |
| First crop | About 20 years (20 to 50 in one review) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones, set apart in the crown in a way that favors pollen from another tree. In its relative noble fir, a tree's own pollen gives about a third less seed. |
| Lifespan | Typically lives 250 years, and the oldest dated one was at least 472. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, stream banks, rich moist slopes and dry uplands |
| Native in | 5 states |

Grand fir is native in 5 states: [California](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CA), [Idaho](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ID), [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT), [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR) and [Washington](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WA). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=grand-fir): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=grand-fir): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=grand-fir&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=grand-fir): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=grand-fir): the planting-window tool
- [When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=grand-fir): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=grand-fir): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=grand-fir:2): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=grand-fir): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=grand-fir): the tree age calculator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=grand-fir): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Bur Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bur-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus macrocarpa*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares floodplain forests and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Black Cherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-cherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus serotina*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares rich moist slopes and dry uplands in the wild.
- [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
- [Balsam Poplar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/balsam-poplar/index.html.md) (*Populus balsamifera*): large tree, 30 to 100 feet, zones 2 to 5. Shares floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
- [Peachleaf Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/peachleaf-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix amygdaloides*): medium tree, 35 to 60 feet, zones 2 to 8. Shares floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
- [Chokecherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/chokecherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus virginiana*): small tree, 20 to 30 feet, zones 2 to 10. Shares stream banks in the wild.
- [Every companion of grand fir in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=grand-fir)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Utah State University Extension, the Gymnosperm Database and Oregon State University Extension.