Abies

Of the 40 species comprising the fir genus, not all are suitable for gardens or parks as many of them are among the largest trees on earth. These trees are especially demanding and sensitive to extreme conditions. Nevertheless, firs have always been held in great esteem as noble conifers as their symmetrical conical habits make for splendid, striking trees.

Their needles is especially beautiful. Most firs develop flat, often aromatic needles that are generally dark green on top with 2 white stripes underneath. Some cultivars have needles that are greyish green to bluish green on both sides. The firs have inconspicuous, monoecious flowers, male and female flower organs being on the same individual. True fir cones are not easy to find as they only grow after several decades and in the higher branches of the tree. They do not fall as cones to the ground, as is the case with spruces, but rather as single cone scales when they have ripened. It is thus not surprising that there are only a few Abies varieties that produce decorative cones at eye-level when they are still young. Unlike spruces, the cones of firs are on the branches.

Garden-variety firs only develop their full beauty if they have had enough space to grow from the very beginning and have not been suppressed by larger competitors.