Concolor fir

* Common name: Concolor fir

* Botanical name: Abies concolor

* What it is: A sleek, upright, Rocky-Mountain-native evergreen tree with soft blue-green needles. Also known as white fir and is a popular Christmas-tree variety.

* Size: 40 feet tall by about 20 feet wide.

* Where to use: Can be planted in a line or massed for tall, evergreen screening but also is attractive enough to make a stand-alone specimen in any full-sun yard.

* Care: Improve clay soil with compost before planting and keep damp the first two seasons. Avoid soggy or poorly drained soil! Once established, concolor fir is more drought-tolerant than most firs. Fertilize with an annual spring scattering of acidifying, organic, granular fertilizer such as Holly-tone or Holly-Care. Pruning not needed unless it outgrows allotted space, in which case new growth can be lightly sheared in late spring to maintain size.

* Great partner: Ring with groundcover planting of leadwort (plumbago). ‘Pink Drift’ roses are a good shrub partner.