Brand:  Iseli Nursery

Description:

A distinctive selection with peeling, reddish-brown bark, even at a young age; vivid, violet-purple cones stand erect on the upper branches, over dark green needles with white undersides and tips; broadly upright; enjoys full sun

Ornamental Features

Flaky Bark Fir is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. The violet fruits with hints of purple are held in abundance in spectacular cones from early to late spring. It has attractive dark green foliage with white undersides and tinges of silver which emerges creamy white in spring. The needles are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. The peeling brick red bark is extremely showy and adds significant winter interest.

Landscape Attributes

Flaky Bark Fir is an evergreen tree with a strong central leader and a distinctive and refined pyramidal form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This tree will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Flaky Bark Fir is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Vertical Accent

Planting & Growing

Flaky Bark Fir will grow to be about 25 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.