Fir the love of...

...well, the love of positive identification.

To me, there's nothing worse (horticulturally, anyway) than having a great plant that is not what it's purported to be. Here's a fir instance...

These several plants were purchased as Abies nordmanniana. Nordmann Fir is a great plant that I enjoy every time I see it in landscapes, and have grown several plants for a long time at the Valley. I believe these new purchases to be a different species.

Let's see what you think.

More images...

And a few more...

First row of pics looks like Abies holophylla to me.

Resin

Do the needles have two white bands underneath?

I appreciate all of you for reviewing this plant.

I've taken a look at some online information - Arnold Arboretum, Morris Arboretum, and Mustila Arboretum (must-read for Pseudo). Though I knew the name Abies holophylla from texts and from seeing the plant here or there over many years of travel, I believe I have a better handle on the species.

Thanks for the identification, Resin. I will give the nursery a heads-up about what they really sent, and see if they can reconcile their records. I will continue to photograph these plants to document more closely their growth, behavior, and plant parts.

Needle Fir (aka Manchurian Fir) is APTLY named.

I had one of these at the old place. The needles were more Picea than Abies when it came to being user friendly. I planted it in the company of birch, just like Resin recommended.

Thanks for the Mustila Arb tip. I'll check that out.

I figured:

Pseudo = cold.

Finland = cold.

Natural affinity.

I also imagine Resin has been to this excellent collection, so he should offer up more direct experience.

Here is some more information on that part of the world, should like-minded souls be interested...

http://www.vpike.com/?ci=660294&country=FI
http://www.mustila.fi/en

And here are some zone maps from the right honorable Gerd Krussmann's venerable text Manual of Cultivated Conifers. The location of Arboretum Mustali is Elmaki, Finland - a little northeast of Helsinki - which looks to be solid zone 4.

Me so cold, but warming up quickly.

This place is a good find. I could see making it a destination visit on a trip to Scandinavia. It's been added to my bucket list, which is starting to get long.

This may not have much to do with firs, but one of the highlights of a trip to Iceland a few years ago was a serendipitous visit to a botanical garden on the northern coast in the town of Akureyri. I marveled to see all the plants I can't grow - they looked like they were on steroids. Some of you may live in climates where these aren't that unusual, but for me, it was spectacular. I always love checking out botanical gardens or arboretums wherever we're visiting.

OK, now back to firs...

Goodness, I didn't know there was a zone -0-. Probably not much tree cover in that part of the world. People around here were bent out of shape over the long winter; can you imagine trying to survive there?!

Oh Resin, that's really helpful, thanks! I trade seeds and sometimes it's difficult to figure out their zones. Are they USDA equivalent?

Weerobin, I'm pretty sure you can grow all those, Delphinium, Lupines, ???, Poppy (Himalayan Blue), Sea Holly. All great specimens though.

Yep, same temperature scale as USDA.

Zone 0 is the area around Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon, where temperatures have been known to get down to -71°C. That's more than 50 degrees colder than your deep freeze. The sort of weather where if you toss a bucket of boiling water, it's ice before it hits the ground. Just don't go outside there without several layers of thick furs. Perhaps surprisingly, they do have trees there (larch, birch, etc.), the summers, though short, are hot.

http://icons-ak.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/e/emacsdude/0.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZjfScL_wRE
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266374/Oymyakon-coldest-village-earth-Temperatures-drop-71-2C-locals-wear-glasses-freeze-faces-school-shuts-falls-52C.html

Resin