Common Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis Large tree Zones 2–9 40–60 ft
Shares dry uplands, rocky ground and stream banks in the wild.
A native we do not grow
White Fir
Abies concolor. Large tree, 30 to 80 feet where planted, zones 3 to 7; full sun, part shade or shade; dry or average ground.
We do not grow white 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 | Concolor fir, Colorado fir, Colorado white fir, Rocky Mountain white fir, California white fir, Sierra white fir, western white fir, white balsam |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 30 to 80 where planted; up to 266 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 30 |
| Zones | 3 to 7 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, hedge or screen, erosion control |
| Pollen | May to July |
| Fruit | Cones, September to October |
| First crop | About 40 years (cones on to past 300) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones and the wind carries the pollen, and in its relative noble fir a tree's own pollen gives about a third less seed. |
| Lifespan | The oldest tree dated by its rings was at least 416 years. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on white fir marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Planting season | Spring. The NRCS plant guide calls white fir easily transplanted but somewhat sensitive to a move in fall, and lists the care a fall planting needs. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Rich moist slopes, dry uplands, rocky ground and stream banks |
| Native in | 9 states |
White fir is native in 9 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America, the Fire Effects Information System, the Jepson eFlora and the NRCS plant guide. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in Maine and Massachusetts, where it is naturalized, not native.
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 white fir's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Western Soapberry
Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii Medium tree Zones 5–9 20–50 ft
Shares dry uplands, rocky ground and stream banks in the wild.
Gum Bumelia
Sideroxylon lanuginosum Small tree Zones 5–10 15–45 ft
Shares dry uplands, rocky ground and stream banks in the wild.
Little Walnut
Juglans microcarpa Small tree Zones 5–9 20–30 ft
Shares dry uplands, rocky ground and stream banks in the wild.
Black Cherry
Prunus serotina Large tree Zones 2–9 50–80 ft
Shares rich moist slopes and dry uplands in the wild.
Hop Hornbeam
Ostrya virginiana Medium tree Zones 3–9 25–40 ft
Shares dry uplands and rocky ground 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 Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Utah State University Extension, the Gymnosperm Database and the International Tree-Ring Data Bank.