Hi all - we have lost all but one concolor, blue fir. All appear to die in the same way, branch ends wilt, turn brown and then loose needles. We are probably pushing the limits of our zone 5. Hoping you all can advise what we can do to salvage tree. Thanks! marzette ketchikan, ak
You're probably zone 7, not 5; the climate will be OK for it though it would prefer a bit more summer heat and less rain - it isn't a rainforest tree. I'd suspect a fungal disease that is made worse by the cool wet summers. If you are wanting to try Abies generally, maybe try some different species that will cope with the conditions better, such as Abies forrestii, or A. delavayi.
Yes: some more exotic ones like those would probably love it there. Part of the popularity of White Fir is the fact that it will grow over a wide area, including places rather different from its home territory. Many other firs do not make lasting attractive specimens in places that are not as cool and rainy as it probably is where you are. Even Seattle is too warm and dry for most kinds of true firs to have long lives in populated areas. Thinning of the crown, bugginess and dieback are typical - including with the locally native Grand Fir. This last one does, of course manage to grow tall here but does not remain dense and free of pests. Adelgids and needle fungi are frequent.
