Height15-25cm

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Highly popular Christmas tree with excellent needle retention, soft non-prickly needles, pleasant resinous fragrance and naturally symmetrical conical shape. Attractive ornamental evergreen when young; relatively quick early growth and good form make it useful as a specimen or screen in suitable gardens.

Key growing conditions

• Full sun (tolerates light partial shade)
• Moist but well-drained, slightly acidic to neutral soil (ideally loamy; avoid heavy clay or waterlogged ground)
• Shelter from cold, drying winds
• Fully hardy but prefers cooler, more humid conditions – performs better in northern and western Britain than in hotter, drier southern sites 
• Sensitive to drought and poor drainage (risk of root rot)

When to plant

• Best in late autumn or early spring when soil is workable (not frozen or waterlogged) 

How to plant

• Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and of equal depth
• Position so the top of the root ball is level with the surrounding soil
• Backfill with excavated soil (improve drainage if needed), firm gently and water thoroughly
• Mulch around the base (keep clear of the trunk) to retain moisture
• Allow space for mature size (typically 10–15 m+ tall with a 4–8 m spread in the UK; closer spacing for Christmas tree production)

Aftercare

• Water regularly for the first 1–2 years until established; keep soil consistently moist but not saturated
• Minimal pruning required (shape lightly if grown for Christmas trees)
• Generally low-maintenance once settled, though monitor for adelgids or aphids

Best suited to cooler, moist sites with good drainage rather than hot, dry or poorly drained lowland gardens. Often grown commercially for the Christmas tree market in the UK.

Photo credit: Soil-Science.info on Flickr (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service), CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)