Fraser fir is a needled, evergreen tree in the Pinaceae (pine) family native to the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States. It is found at elevations of 4,000 to 6,700 feet, often in stands with red spruce trees. It is named for John Fraser (d. 1811), Scottish botanist and plant collector. Fraser fir grows best in full sun to light shade and moist, well-drained, acidic, loamy soil. It does not tolerate heat. It is monoecious, meaning that it has both male and female reproductive parts on the same plant. This tree has a narrow, conical shape when young and grows to 30 to 55 feet tall with a trunk that is 1 to 2 feet thick. It is commercially farmed in North Carolina as a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree industry has ranked it as the number one Christmas tree species! The needles are fragrant and long-lasting making the fraser fir an excellent specimen tree for a garden for the blind, a children’s garden, or a recreational play area. Quick ID Hints: Long bracts on the cone that curl downward, unlike the short bracts on balsam fir cone that are hidden by the scales. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: The balsam wooly adelgid, an introduced insect, is a major threat to wild fraser fir populations. The deadly infestations easily and quickly spread among trees. VIDEO Created by Homegrown featuring Jeff Owen , Area Extension Forestry Specialist for NC State Extension
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.
Often confused withAbies balsameaAbies balsamea var. phanerolepis
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt)
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
24-60 feet
NC region
Mountains
Mature size
Height: 30 ft. 0 in. - 55 ft. 0 in. | Width: 10 ft. 0 in. - 25 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Conical; Dense; Pyramidal
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Needled Evergreen
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green; White
Leaf type
Needles
Leaf shape
Acicular; Linear
Leaf value
Fragrant; Long-lasting
Leaf size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Flattened needles, 1 in. long, shiny, dark green, with a roundo notched point. The undersides are a silvery white.
Flower color
Insignificant
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Brown/Copper; Gold/Yellow; Green; Purple/Lavender
Fruit size
1-3 inches long
Fruit detail
Upright purple-brown cones, 2.5 inches long, with yellow-green bracts with tips that curl downward. When ripe, the seeds, scales, and bracts fall off together, leaving behind the woody core of the cone.
Bark color
Light Gray
Bark detail
On young trees, the bark is smooth, thin, and light gray, blistered with resin on its surface.
Stem detail
Branches hold a whorled form up the trunk.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Appalachian Mountains
Distribution
Southwestern NC, VA, TN
Play value
Fragrance; Pieces Used in Games; Wildlife Food Source
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall
Uses (ethnobotany)
Grown and exported as a Christmas tree. It was also used for medicinal purposes by Cherokee people.
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Recreational Play Area; Slope/Bank
Landscape theme
Children's Garden; Garden for the Blind
Design feature
Specimen
Garden tags
#conifer #large tree #native tree #conical #tsc #slow growing #dark green #full sun tolerant #evergreen #needles #native garden #children's garden #Braham Arboretum #NC native #Christmas trees #Christmas decorations #tsc-cg #partial shade tolerant #fragrant needles #playground plant #fragrant bark #hortcontest
Problems & Resistance
Insect problems
Balsam Woolly Adelgid; Balsam Twig Aphid on Fraser Fir; Pests of Conifers; Spruce Spider Mite on Fraser Fir; Spruce Rust Mite