Piccolo Korean Fir
Abies koreana 'Piccolo'
Height: 3 feet
Spread: 3 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 5
Description:
A spectacular dwarf garden accent with distinctive, tiny green and silver needles on a globe shaped shrub; an excellent plant for interest in the garden; slow growing, exhibits some heat tolerance
Ornamental Features
Piccolo Korean Fir is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the garden for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It has attractive forest green foliage with silver undersides which emerges chartreuse in spring. The tiny needles are highly ornamental and remain forest green throughout the winter.
Landscape Attributes
Piccolo Korean Fir is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Piccolo Korean Fir is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Planting & Growing
Piccolo Korean Fir will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in both summer and winter to conserve soil moisture and protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Piccolo Korean Fir makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.