Momi Fir is a needled evergreen conifer in the pine (Pinaceae) family that is native to hills and mountain slopes in central to southern Japan. The genus name is Latin for tree and the specific epithet is a reference to firm needles. Momi fir will grow 40-70 feet tall in cultivation, up to 150 feet tall in its native habitat and 30-40 feet wide. It has a conical-pyramidal form. Plant in full sun or with some afternoon shade in average, consistently moist and slightly acidic soil. It is tolerant of clay soils. This fir is more tolerant of hot humid climates than most firs are and can be grown in the southeast. The needles on this fir are strongly two-ranked on one side of the branch similar to a comb. Young needles have 2 sharp spines at the tips. The seed cones are held upright as is common for firs. Use a specimen for a large yard, screening or as a Christmas tree. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: None serious. Possible insects are bark beetles, spruce budworms, aphids, bagworms, spider mites and scale. Potential disease problems include cankers, heart rot, root rot, needle rust, and twig blight.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Wet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 40 ft. 0 in. - 70 ft. 0 in. | Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 40 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Columnar; Conical; Open
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Needled Evergreen
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Needles
Leaf shape
Filiform
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Prickly
Leaf value
Fragrant
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Needles 0.8 to 1.5 inches long, dark green, fragrant, flattened, spreading at nearly right angles from the shoot and strongly two-ranked. Needles are notched at the base and sharply pointed at the tip. They are bright green above, and greyish-green below with two, broad, longitudinal stripes.
Flower detail
No flowers.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Brown/Copper; Gold/Yellow; Green
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
> 3 inches long
Fruit detail
No fruits but produces cones. Seed cones are 3 to 6 inches long, conical, erect on branches and showy through the summer. In autumn, the cone breaks apart releasing the seeds and leaving only the central axis of the cone on the tree. The pollen cones are 1.3 inches long and droop from the leaf axils.
Bark color
Dark Brown; Dark Gray; Light Brown; Light Gray; Red/Burgundy
Bark detail
The bark is scaly grey-brown, with resin blisters on young trees. Becomes scaly, fissured and corky with age.
Stem color
Brown/Copper; Gray/Silver
Stem detail
Young branches are ascending but become horizontal with age. The shoots are grooved, buff to grey-brown, glabrous or finely pubescent
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Japan
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Summer
Uses (ethnobotany)
Used as bonsai and Christmas trees. Wood is used for timber, flooring, crates, and paper pulp
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Naturalized Area; Woodland
Design feature
Accent; Screen/Privacy; Shade Tree; Specimen
Garden tags
#large tree #conical #fine texture #full sun tolerant #evergreen #needles #disease resistant #Braham Arboretum #shade tree #bonsai #needled evergreen #evergreen tree #slow growing #poor drainage tolerant #wet soils tolerant #accent #hortcontest #screen
Problems & Resistance
Insect problems
Pests of Conifers
Resistant to
Heat; Humidity; Wet Soil
Particularly resistant to
Is immune to the balsam woolly adelgid which can be a problem for other species of fir. It is resistant to phytopthora root rot.