# Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa)

> Subalpine fir, Abies lasiocarpa: a large tree of 30 to 80 feet where planted, for zones 2 to 7, 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/subalpine-fir/

![Narrow, spire-shaped subalpine firs before rugged mountain peaks, the nearest hung with dark lichen](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/subalpine-fir-1000.jpg?v=2729296c "Subalpine firs on the Skyline II Trail in E. C. Manning Provincial Park, British Columbia, on July 5, 2009. Trees seldom live more than 250 years.")
*Photo: iwona_kellie, [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAbies_lasiocarpa_Skyline.jpg))*

Large tree, 30 to 80 feet where planted, zones 2 to 7; full sun, part shade or shade; dry, average or wet ground.

We do not grow subalpine 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 | Subalpine Fir |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Alpine fir, Rocky Mountain fir, western balsam fir, mountain balsam fir, Rocky Mountain subalpine fir, corkbark fir |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 30 to 80 where planted; up to 171 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 20 |
| Zones | 2 to 7 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, hedge or screen, erosion control |
| Pollen | May to July |
| Fruit | Cones, August to November |
| First crop | About 20 years (corkbark fir about 50) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones 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 years or less, and the oldest dated one was at least 507. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Planting season | Spring |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Rich moist slopes, rocky ground, stream banks and floodplain forests |
| Native in | 12 states |

Subalpine fir is native in 12 states: [Alaska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AK), [Arizona](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AZ), [California](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CA), [Colorado](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CO), [Idaho](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ID), [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT), [Nevada](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NV), [New Mexico](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NM), [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR), [Utah](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=UT), [Washington](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WA) and [Wyoming](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WY). 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](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=subalpine-fir): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=subalpine-fir): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=subalpine-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=subalpine-fir): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=subalpine-fir): the planting-window tool
- [When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=subalpine-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=subalpine-fir): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=subalpine-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=subalpine-fir): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=subalpine-fir): the tree age calculator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=subalpine-fir): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Common Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/index.html.md) (*Celtis occidentalis*): large tree, 40 to 60 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares rocky ground, stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Western Soapberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/western-soapberry/index.html.md) (*Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii*): medium tree, 20 to 50 feet, zones 5 to 9. Shares rocky ground, stream banks and floodplain forests 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 stream banks and floodplain forests 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 stream banks and floodplain forests 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 stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Common Hoptree (Wafer Ash)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hoptree/index.html.md) (*Ptelea trifoliata*): small tree, 10 to 20 feet, zones 4 to 9. Shares rocky ground and stream banks in the wild.
- [Every companion of subalpine fir in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=subalpine-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 Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Oregon State University Extension, Utah State University Extension, Colorado State University Extension, the Gymnosperm Database and the International Tree-Ring Data Bank.