A native we do not grow
Pacific Silver Fir
Abies amabilis. Large tree, 50 to 80 feet where planted, zones 5 to 8; full sun, part shade or shade; average or wet ground.
We do not grow Pacific silver 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
| Other names | Silver fir, Cascades fir, Cascade fir, amabilis fir, lovely fir |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 50 to 80 where planted; up to 236 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 20 |
| Zones | 5 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value |
| Pollen | April to June |
| Fruit | Cones, August to October |
| First crop | 20 to 30 years |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones and can fertilize itself, and the wind carries the pollen. In its relative noble fir, a tree's own pollen gives about a third less seed. |
| Lifespan | Typically lives 250 to 500 years, and the oldest dated one was at least 900. 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 | Rich moist slopes and floodplain forests |
| Native in | 4 states |
Pacific silver fir is native in 4 states: Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and the Fire Effects Information System.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of Pacific silver fir's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Balsam Poplar
Populus balsamifera Large tree Zones 2–5 30–100 ft
Shares floodplain forests in the wild.
Peachleaf Willow
Salix amygdaloides Medium tree Zones 2–8 35–60 ft
Shares floodplain forests in the wild.
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 Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Oregon State University Extension, the Gymnosperm Database and Oecologia.