Here is a premium Douglas fir.

Douglas Fir are usually shearded for the perfect cone shape. This specie is a fast grower with high density and reasonable scent. The poll appearing in the middle is a measuring poll. The different colors mean different sizes, standard in the Christmas tree industry: red means is a 5-6 ft tall, yellow means 6-7 ft tall.

Douglas-fir is the common name applied to coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. The Douglas-firs gave 19th century botanists problems due to their similarity to various other conifers better known at the time; they have been classified in Pinus, Picea, Abies, Tsuga, and even Sequoia. Because of the distinctive cones, Douglas-firs were finally placed in the new genus Pseudotsuga (meaning "false Tsuga") by the French botanist Carrière in 1867.

The common name honours David Douglas, the Scottish botanist who first introduced the tree into cultivation in 1826. Douglas is known for introducing many North American native conifers to Europe. The hyphen in the common name indicates that Douglas-firs are not true firs; i.e. they are not members of the genus Abies.

The Douglas-firs are medium-size to large evergreen trees, to 20-100 m tall.

Here there are a few premium Noble Firs

Noble fir or Abies procera is commonly called red fir or white fir. This true fir is impressive and limited to the Cascade Range and Coast Ranges of the Pacific Northwest. Noble fir attains the largest dimensions of any of the true fir species. It’s a slow grower and likes lower temperatures and high precipitation. Seedlings typically require 3 years to reach a height of 1 ft, about double of the time of a Douglas Fir, for example.

Noble fir is considered an excellent Christmas tree because of its beauty, stiff branches and long keepability. Noble fir represents between 25% and 30% of the fresh Christmas tree market in the Pacific Northwest and is a major source of greenery.

Noble fir is generally found at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 ft in the Cascade Range of central Washington and in the Coast Ranges of Oregon. It is occasionally found at much lower elevations.

Frasier Fir

Here is a close up shot of a Fraser Fir. It’s scientific name is Abies Fraseri. Very popular Christmas tree in the East Coast. It has stiff branches, medium density, strong scent and extreme keepability. The tree's branches angle upwards, giving it a compact appearance and a uniformly pyramidal shape . Has a short dark green needle with silver undersides, giving it a very distinctive look. This specie is very aromatic and doesn’t loose a lot of needles.

The combination of form, needle retention, dark blue-green color, pleasant scent and excellent shipping characteristics has led to Fraser fir being a most popular Christmas tree species. North Carolina produces the majority of Fraser fir Christmas trees. It requires from 7 to 10 years in the field to produce a 6-7 feet tree.

North Carolinians and others from the southeastern United States are justifiably proud of the Fraser fir. It is endemic to the region, growing in the Appalachian Mountains at elevations above 4,500 feet in Virginia, North Carolina and part of Tennessee. Some authorities believe that today’s Frasers are descendents of trees that survived on uncovered patches of ground during the last Ice Age, some 20,000 years ago. In the wild, the Fraser fir can grow to be eighty feet tall. Modern Christmas tree farmers, however, groom and shape them for harvesting at a much smaller size.

The species was named for John Fraser, a plant collector, amateur botanist, publisher and explorer who visited the southeastern United States many times in the years just following the Revolutionary War. While Fraser did not discover the tree that bears his name, it was named in his honor by fellow botanist Frederick Traugott Pursh.

Since the Fraser fir lives in mountainous areas, it is not logged intensively. The soft wood is sometimes used for such things as paneling and crates, and the fragrant bows for “pine pillows”, but the Fraser fir’s primary use is for fresh-cut Christmas trees.

Frasier Fir

The Fraser Fir was chosen for the White House Christmas Tree a record nine times, more times than any other tree.

Field of Grand Firs

The Fraser Fir was chosen for the White House Christmas Tree a record nine times, more times than any other tree.

The thick-foliage, symmetry, deep green shiny color, and strong, orangish fragrance make grand fir one of the preferred species of Christmas trees grown in the Northwest. Most seedlings produced for Christmas tree growers originate from the Panhandle area of Idaho. In most areas, it will produce a marketable tree in 8-10 years. Grand fir also is valued in plantings in recreation areas and urban sites. It grows quickly in the moister parts of Britain and is cultivated for timber in western and northern Europe.

The aromatic properties of grand fir were important in many of its uses by American Indians. The needles were boiled to make a medicinal tea for colds. Boughs were brought inside as an air freshener and burned as incense and to make a purifying smoke to ward off illnesses. Dried, crushed needles have been used as baby powder. The pitch of young trees was mixed with oil to be used as a deodorant and rubbed on the scalp to prevent balding.

The famous Barlow Road snub-trees on the south side of Mount Hood in Oregon were grand firs. They were used by early settlers to control the rate of descent of their covered wagons on a particularly steep slope in their trek from east to west. Some of the rope-burned trees are still standing after 150 years.

Colorado Blue Spruce

Scientific name: Picea pungens Engelm.

Colorado blue spruce, or blue spruce, is an attractive tree often used for Christmas trees or as ornamentals, particularly in the eastern United States and Europe. It is the official state tree of both Colorado and Utah. The species generally reaches a height of 65-115 feet at maturity with a diameter of 2-3 feet. It has a narrow, pyramidal shape and cone-shaped crown. While blue spruce grows relatively slowly, it is long-lived and may reach ages of 600-800 years.!!

Since its needles have a very sharp point, and the tall trees are really hard to handle, we see less and less Christmas tree growers planting it. However, nurseries still carry it for ornamental trees.

Not advisable as a Christmas tree if you have young kids!

Abies nordmanniana: Nordman Fir

(Abies nordmanniana) Know as Nordman Fir ( Caucasian Fir or Turkish Fir)

This beautiful tree has becoming more and more popular every year. It has layers like the Noble Fir, with steardy branches and the short needles are soft and delicate to the touch, that are densely arranged on tiered, downward-sweeping branches. The top of the leaves are a bright, shinny green, and the bottom are of a lighter green, with two strips of silver. This tree has great needle retention, and will outlast even the Noble Firs.

Abies nordmanniana is a fir native to the mountains south and east of the Black Sea, in Turkey, Georgia, Russian Caucasus and northern parts of Armenia. It occurs at altitudes of 900-2,200 m . In the Western Caucasus Reserve, some specimens have been reported to be 78 m tall, the tallest trees in Europe.

There are two subspecies (treated as distinct species by some botanists): Caucasian Fir or Turkish Fir.

It was discovered by Alexander Von Nordmann, German botanist (1803-66), who introduced it to western Europe in 1838.