Looking great in the garden now is our specimen of Turkish Fir, Abies bornmuelleriana. Our 27 year old specimen was planted as a young seedling, and has shown none of the root disease problems associated with our similar looking native, Abies fraseri. This is despite it being planted where the roof gutters dump water. The first few years, growth for us was painfully slow, but then it picks up speed, putting on 1′ of new growth annually.
That’s gorgeous. Thanks for sharing this and more of the interesting and wonderful plant at Juniper Level.
Having spent a good portion of my life in the southern Appalachians of NW North Carolina and SW Virginia I’ve always wanted to recreate a small sampling of the mountain woodlands here in central NC’s zone 8a. I’ve spent an equal amount of time in coastal Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina but planting cold-hardy ‘coastal ‘plants is a story for another day.
As far as conifers, I’ve coveted JLBG’s Turkish Fir for years, unfortunately when seedlings were available at Plant Delights I always just missed the last one. Last fall I finally received several Abies bornmuelleriana from a west coast nursery that are now showing a nice flush of new growth. I’m optimistic that the Turkish Fir will serve as a heat/humidity tolerant stand-in for our native Frasier fir, Abies fraseri.
I noticed that you planted your A. bornmuelleriana in a sunny protected position close to the house foundation with what could be a southern/eastern exposure with pm shade. Is that what you would recommend today, or have you learned this tree can handle a more open full-sun position as well?
As far as creating a mountain landscape garden, in the past year I’ve planted Kalmia latifolia mountain laurels ‘Sarah’ and ‘Keepsake’ that look good as they face their 2nd summer in the ground. I’m considering planting a small thicket of Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) for that full-shade ‘black forest’ effect. I’m also looking for a robust heat-loving Colorado Blue Spruce cultivar if such a thing exists, thinking about trying Picea pungens ‘Fat Albert’ they claim tolerates zone 8 if positioned for afternoon shade. On the rhododendron front I’ve gotten a good start with 2 varieties of R. catawbiense, the purple-flowered “Royal Resilience’ is thriving; and showing promise is the white-flowering ‘chinoides’ that seems for me to have an extended bloom period in my shady, cooler micro-climate. I’ve just added several deciduous azaleas including Rhododendron ‘Marydel’ native to Delaware, and a couple of Rhododendron atlanticum hybrids. I’m hoping to add the Flame Azalea Rhododendron calendulaceum soon.
Any suggestions for plants native to the southern Appalachians (or the southeast coastal plain) that tolerate Raleigh’s zone 7b/8a climate would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg
We planted our original Abies bornmuelleriana far too close to the house, but have since planted them further afield, where they thrive. We have not found that Pinus strobus is often long lasting in Zone 7b and south due to root disease issues. That said, there are some old ones, but the site need to be very well drained, and there are clonal issues related to survivability. There is a huge natural stand in the White Pine Nature Preserve in Chatham County, NC, where they have evolved to better tolerate heat and summer rains.