Weeping European-silver-fir
Abies alba 'Pendula'
Pine familiy (Pinaceae)
Sad at her best
The normal, ‘ordinary’ silver fir is a tall, straight tree from the mountain forests of the Alps, Pyrenees and Balkans. The timber is used for (‘pine’) furniture. The upper surface of the needle is dark green whilst on the bottom there are two narrow, white stripes that give this fir its ‘silvery’ appearance. Its crown is narrow and conical with stereotypical flat, wide branches forming layers around the stem with upwardly curved tips.
However the weeping silver fir has a different appearance: at first sight the young tree resembles a floppy dwarf conifer but with age the stem will elongate and sprays of green foliage and branches give it a fountain-like appearance. The top of the tree arches over whilst branches, arising vertically from the main stem, droop gracefully back towards the ground.
Themes
Crown jewel in the Poort Bulten Arboretum.
More than one pendulous Abies alba variety exists in Europe, but ‘Pendula’ was the first widely-propagated clone dating from ca. 1835 having first been discovered as a seedling at M. Godefroy’s Nursery at Ville d'Avray, near Paris, France.
Details
| Description: | Conifer, 4-12 m. |
|---|---|
| Distributions: | Only found in cultivation. |
| Habitat: | In gardens. |
| Year cycle: | Perennial (polycarpic evergreen) |
| Hardiness: | Colder than -4 f (very hardy) |