Abies grandis

 Abies grandis twigs viewed from above (top) and below).

Abies grandis growing in 1-gallon containers at a native plant nursery near Shoreline, Washington. 

 Abies grandis growing in tree-tube containers at a native plant nursery near Seattle, Washington.

Abies grandis - grand fir

Abies is a small genus of trees in the pacific northwest. Species generally have seeds with physiological or combinational dormancy (physical and physiological dormancy) which is overcome with cold stratification and/or scarification (USDA 1974; Wang 1960). For species with combinational dormancy, seeds must be scarified before stratification to facilitate imbibition. Species have cones that generally disperse during the fall and sometimes into the winter and seed dispersal may be drawn out for long periods of time (USDA 1974). Seeds can remain viable for 5+ years under cool and dry conditions but may have much reduced long-term storage at room temperature (USDA 1974). Abies species are grown commercially for forestry applications and can also be found in native plant nurseries. There is a plethora of information on the propagation and production of these species due to their economic value.

Seed Propagation

Abies grandis seeds collected from throughout Washington and British Columbia benefited from 60+ days of cold stratification at 0 °C (Wang 1974). Stratification requirements and germination percentages varied by location of seed collection but generally 25 °C had higher germination than cooler temperatures. Final germination percentages ranged from 15 to 100%. Still others have reported lower lengths of cold stratification or no seed pretreatments are needed to achieve satisfactory germination (Emery 1988; USDA 1974). A summary of this is provided in Table 1.

 Table 1. Summary of germination information for Pacific Northwest native Abies grandis.

1=Dormancy classification system based on Baskin and Baskin 2014. PD= physiological dormancy; ND=nondormant.
*=based on recommendation of author without data provided.
2=Seed pretreatments which resulted in highest or recorded germination; w=weeks.
3=Germination conditions which resulted in highest or recorded germination including temperature and photoperiod (corresponding to daily high temperatures where applicable).
4=Final germination percentages; w=weeks after seeding.
5=Location within state (i.e. N=north), state, and elevation seeds were collected.

References

Baskin C, Baskin J. 2014. Seeds: ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy and germination. 2nd ed. Elsevier Inc., San Diego, CA.

Bonner and Karrfalt, eds. 2008. The Woody Plant Seed Manual. Agric. Handbook No. 727. Washington, DC. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1223 p.

Dirr and Heuser, 2006. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation: From Seed to Tissue Culture, Second Edition, Timber Press.

Emery 1988. Seed propagation of native California species. Santa Rosa Botanical Garden

[FNA] Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico [Online]. 21+ vols. New York and Oxford. Vol. 1, 1993; vol. 2, 1993; vol. 3, 1997; vol. 4, 2003; vol. 5, 2005; vol. 7, 2010; vol. 8, 2009; vol. 19, 2006; vol. 20, 2006; vol. 21, 2006; vol. 22, 2000; vol. 23, 2002; vol. 24, 2007; vol. 25, 2003; vol. 26, 2002; vol. 27, 2007; vol 28, 2014; vol. 9, 2014; vol. 6, 2015; vol. 12, 2016; vol. 17, 2019. Website http://beta.floranorthamerica.org. [accessed February 2022].