I'd suspect the main problem is availability (or rather, lack of availability!) of Abies firma seedlings for rootstocks. The species isn't anywhere near as prolific as A. fraseri or A. balsamea in seed production, and never produces seed easily accessible on small trees the way those two do. Therefore, it is very expensive.

Resin

Brooks Tree sells firma seedlings at or near the same price as other firs. Man, if I had a nursery sitting up in the southern Appalachians (eastern TN, western NC)... I would buy Abies cultivars. I think they would grow well there no matter what they were grafted to. Especially frasier which is native. I'd graft a bunch of them to firma. I think you could make some $$$ selling them to southerners. At least the majority of us who do not live high in the mountains.

I think that Don Howse, at Porterhowse Farms, sells some Abies on firma understock and his list states the cultivars that are on firma understock.

I know Don Howse used to list some things on firma understock, but his latest listing (March '09) did not. You could call him and ask. Bethelehem Nursury still lists some cultivars on firma.

tj

Again, Treehaven Evergreen Nursery 'Hilltop Tree Farm' sells Abies firma, just about anything Abies. It's my favorite nursery and Don is like speaking to your best friends father, that's at least how I envision him. He sent me (for free among tons of "free stuff" because we talk on the phone...) (4) Abies firma three feet tall. Cost for a seedling that size might be 2.49 cents, just a guess. I suspect they'll be cold hardy and grow very well here.

Grafting...shoot. I could graft those all day long at his prices. He also sells 1 foot plugs of Abies firma (50) for like .50 cents each. I just happened to buy a lot of Canaan fir and Nordmann fir at a very big caliper. These are my "extra's."

Quickly, the deal with grafting firs is that some species are "white-barked." e.g. Korean, alba, etc- those should be grafted to something very heat tolerant and Canaan fir fits this bill. The others should be grafted to something else very heat tolerant such as Nordmann which is the one used. Firma would be a replacement for Nordmann. It's important to have barks matching with firs.

Dax

Dax,
Thanks for the post. I think Nordmann and Firma would do well in my hot zone 6B. I have a Nordmann in my yard and it has been doing great for 3-4 years now. I have never seen a Canaan fir in this area or something similiar like Birmingham or Atlanta (both are hotter). Maybe you or someone else could let me know if Canaan would be a good rootstock as well. It would at least be another option. It seems like most everyone is using Frasier or Balsam. I think those will cook. Would koreana not graft well to Nordmann? Firma? I'm not sure I understand the white-barked v. others.
Thanks again!

Hey midtn,

I personally know that Gee's Nursery, Bethlehem Nursrey grow onto Canaan Fir. Gee's uses Nordmanniana. I had a brief conversation with Gary Gee and he told me:
'White Bark Firs Concolor, Lasiocarpa etc he grafts only to Canaan Fir'. I would think by now that nurseries whom cater to the midwest use the correct understocks... This has been going on for more than a while and thees guys know what's up. It's the west coast that grafts a lot to things like fraseri and currently I have a seedling that was an understock that I'm positive is Abies grandis. So those guys use some different shat out there. Korean fir I'm personally certain would be a strong understock for heat, as well. You should be able to grow that too... with excellence.

Dax

"Would koreana not graft well to Nordmann? Firma?"

I'd suspect they'll graft well enough to start with while still young, but there could be compatibility problems later on as growth rates beyond about 20 years start to differ markedly.

"I'm not sure I understand the white-barked v. others"

Don't worry, I don't either!

Resin

Interesting, thanks for your input Resin. That was a new one to me too. I figured thee guy has a huge conifer nursery so maybe he knew something I didn't.

Dax