What better Plant of the Month than the Abies Nordmanniana, better known as the Nordmann fir or Caucasian fir. Many of us will be bringing them into our home this month,
Nordmann trees are evergreen conifers, indigenous to Georgia, Russian Caucasus and parts of Turkey, though the ones found in Turkey are a subspecies called Abies nordmanniana subsp. equi-trojani or ‘Turkish Fir’. Nordmanns generally grow between 55-60 metres tall, with the largest reported trees being 85 metres tall in the Caucasus. Their dense, flattened needle foliage on down-swept branches are perfect for catching high volumes of snow and can withstand the heavy weight. Luckily we don’t get heavy snowfall in Jersey, but their strong branch will do well in our often harsh winds.
In the garden a Nordmann will royally fill up any empty spaces, growing at 30cm per year. It will also double as a permanent outdoor Christmas tree, which you can decorate with outdoor Christmas lighting and shatter-proof Christmas ornaments. Just make sure to secure them with stainless steel wire or hemp rope, so that they don’t get blown away and it won’t impact the tree.
