In any season visitors to your garden should immediately take notice of ‘Silberlocke’ korean fir. Korean fir (Abies koreana) is a densely branched pyramidal evergreen tree. Growth is slow in the beginning, eventually reaching 50 feet or more in mature height. The wide 3/4 inch long needles are dark green and glossy above and silvery on the underside. Upright purple 3-inch cones are a distinctive feature of this fir.

‘Silberlocke’, aka ‘Horstmann’s Silberlocke’, typically grows as a compact pyramidal shrub form, 8 to 10 feet tall in its first 10 years, eventually maturing to 18 to 20 feet tall and 12 to 18 feet wide. The needles are uniquely recurved and silvery-white beneath. Silberlocke was introduced in 1986 by German plantsman Gunter Horstmann.

When properly sited in full sun (minimum of 6 hours) and a compost-rich, well-drained soil. It prefers a cool well-drained site (USDA hardiness zones 5 to 7) and often fails in summer heat and humidity further south. If you garden in USDA zone 7 and/or the soil is a heavy clay loam, grow ‘Silberlocke’ korean fir grafted onto Japanese Momi fir Abies firma rootstock.

Silberlocke has few serious disease or pest problems. Stem cankers and Phytophthora root rot often kill most firs (Abies spp.). Generally, firs languish, if not die, in hot droughty soils and urban pollution. Maintain a 2-3 inch thick mulch layer around Silberlocke to conserve soil moisture and moderate root temperatures.

Feed once yearly with 10-10-10 granular fertilizer in late winter or apply an acidic water-soluble product such as Miracle Gro™, Jacks™, or Hollytone™ in spring and early summer.

Silberlocke’s silvery needle foliage and erect standing purple cones provide 4-seasons of interest. Plant availability is usually limited to specialty conifer nurseries from e-commerce. Again, specify grafted stock if you garden in zone 7.