The Grand Fir or Giant Fir (Abies
Grandis) is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest, occuring at
altitudes of sea level to 5000 feet. It is a medium to large
evergreen coniferous tree, growing to 180 to 210 feet with a trunk
diameter of up to six feet.
The leaves are needle-like, flattened, up to two inches long, an eighth
of an inch wide and 1/32nd inch thick, glossy dark green above and with two
green-white bands of stomata below, and slightly notched at the tip.
The leaf arrangement is spiral on the shoot, but with each leaf variably
twisted at the base so that they all lie in two more-or-less flat ranks on
either side of the shoot. The cones are up to five inches long with
about 100 to 150 scales. The winged seeds are released when the cones
disintegrate at maturity about 6 months after pollination.
Grand Fir make wonderful
Christmas trees. They give your entire living quarters a fragrant
smell as they have the most pronounced scent of any of the species.
However, the Grand Fir needs special care. It must be in a filled
water stand, away from hot stoves, fireplaces, or registers. If
you keep your room temperature above 70 degrees on a regular basis, you
should not select a Grand as your Christmas tree. We hand shear
all our Grand Fir, which require about eight years to grow to household
size. When you see them, we are sure that you will admire their
shape and perfume-like smell. Break a needle in half and smell it
to see how your house will smell.
