How Long to Grow a Christmas Tree: Fraser and Nordmann Firs

Updated September 2026 · Garden Advice Guide

How long to grow a Christmas tree depends almost entirely on the species. A Fraser fir takes about 7 to 10 years in the field to reach 6 or 7 feet, and 10 to 14 years if you count from seed. A Nordmann fir is slower still, usually 9 to 12 years in the field, because it barely grows for its first few seasons. Douglas fir, Scotch pine and eastern white pine are faster at 6 to 8 years, Colorado blue spruce runs 8 to 10, and in the South a Leyland cypress or Virginia pine can be cut in 3 to 6 years. Every one of those numbers assumes good soil, weed control and yearly shearing.

Pick a species your winters and summers allow. Look up your USDA zone with our free growing zone lookup before you order seedlings, because a fir planted in the wrong climate never reaches cutting size at all.

Updated September 2026

Why the answer is a range, not one number

When a tree farm says a Fraser fir took "eight years," it usually means eight years in the field. The tree was already three to five years old when it went in the ground. Conifer seedlings spend their first two years in a seedbed, then often another two or three years in a transplant bed where they build a root system, before they are sold to growers as transplants. Nursery catalogs describe that history with a code:

So the honest way to read any timeline is "field years plus nursery years." A 2-2 Fraser fir you plant this spring is already four years old, and it still needs most of a decade before it is tall enough for a living room.

Three other things stretch or shrink the field years:

• Establishment. Almost every conifer grows only a few inches in its first one or two seasons after planting while the roots settle in. Firs are the worst for this, and Nordmann fir is the worst of the firs.
• Site. A Fraser fir on a cool, well drained slope grows twice as fast as the same tree in heavy wet clay, where it may never grow well at all.
• Target size. Most families want a 6 to 7 foot tree. Every extra foot adds roughly one more year for firs and spruces, and less than that for pines.

How long to grow a Christmas tree, species by species

The table gives typical numbers for trees planted as transplants and grown with weed control and yearly shearing. Growth per year is for established trees, after the slow first seasons.

Those figures are the working numbers growers plan around. Yours may come in a year or two faster in a perfect spot and several years slower in a poor one. If you want to know how each of these trees behaves once it is cut and standing in a room, that side of the story is on our types of Christmas trees page. This page stays out in the field.

Fraser fir: the 8 year standard

Fraser fir is the tree most people picture, and it sets the benchmark for every other timeline. Here is how a typical Fraser fir grows after going in the ground as a 2-2 transplant about 15 inches tall.

Fraser fir is native to a handful of mountaintops in the southern Appalachians, and it grows best in conditions that resemble them: cool summers, steady rainfall, and deep, loose, acidic soil around pH 5.0 to 6.0 that drains quickly. Its one serious enemy is Phytophthora root rot, which thrives in poorly drained ground. If water stands in the spot for a day after a heavy rain, a Fraser fir there will likely die before it is cut. Test the site first with the steps in our guide to how to test garden soil, and plant Fraser only where the soil drains fast.

Nordmann fir: slow to start, worth the wait

Nordmann fir is the Christmas tree of most of Europe, and more US growers plant it every year. Its reputation for being slow is fair. A Nordmann fir often adds just 3 to 6 inches a year for its first three or four field seasons, and many growers joke that it "sits and sulks." After that it settles into a steady 8 to 15 inches a year, so a 6 to 7 foot tree usually takes 9 to 12 years in the field.

What you get in return for the wait:

• Late bud break. Nordmann fir pushes new growth later in spring than Fraser fir, so a late frost rarely kills its tender new shoots. In valleys and low spots where frost settles, that alone can make it the better choice.
• A naturally good shape. Its branches grow in neat tiers, and it needs much less shearing than most species to look full.
• More tolerance for heat and heavier soil. It is still a fir, and it still wants drainage, but it copes with warmer summers and slightly heavier soil better than Fraser fir does. That makes it a reasonable try in parts of zone 7 where Fraser struggles.

The usual trade off is patience. If your goal is a tree for the kids while they still live at home, plant Nordmann alongside a faster species rather than instead of one.

Douglas fir, spruces and the other firs

Douglas fir is the workhorse of western tree farms, and it is fast for a conifer, usually 6 to 8 field years. It prefers the cool, moist climate of the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies, and it tends to struggle in hot, humid summers farther east. It is also one of the species growers sometimes manage by "stump culture," which is covered below.

Balsam fir and Canaan fir both run close to Fraser fir in timing. Balsam wants the coldest climate of the three, while Canaan handles wetter, heavier soil better than either and has become a common swap for Fraser on sites with marginal drainage.

Noble fir grows best in its home region of western Oregon and Washington and does poorly almost anywhere else. Plan on 8 to 10 years.

Concolor fir is slow, often taking 8 to 12 years, but it tolerates heat, drought and alkaline soil better than any other fir, so it is the fir to try in the dry interior West.

Colorado blue spruce grows slowly, around 8 to 10 years to size, and is one of the hardiest trees on the list, surviving zone 2 winters. It tolerates dry wind and poor soil and is rarely touched by deer. Norway spruce grows faster, often 6 to 8 years, and we cover it as a yard tree on our Norway spruce page.

Pines and Leyland cypress: the fast options

Pines are the answer when you want a tree sooner. Scotch pine and eastern white pine both reach cutting size in about 6 to 8 field years, and white pine can add 2 feet or more a year once it gets going. The catch is that fast pines turn leggy and open without shearing, so they need more shaping work than firs, and the shearing window is short. Virginia pine is the traditional farm pine of the Southeast and can be ready in 4 to 6 years.

Leyland cypress is the fastest Christmas tree grown in the US. In zones 7 and 8 it commonly adds 3 feet a year, and a family can plant one and cut it in 3 to 5 years. It is propagated from cuttings rather than seed, so there is no long nursery stage either. It does have real weaknesses as a long term yard tree: shallow roots, weak wood, and canker disease in humid heat. Those are spelled out on our fast growing shade trees page, and the deer and spacing side is on the Leyland cypress page. As a crop you cut young, though, most of those weaknesses never have time to show up.

How tall they get if you never cut them

Plenty of backyard Christmas trees end up never being cut. The family moves, the kids grow up, or one tree is just too handsome to take down. Plant with that possibility in mind, because a Christmas tree is only a small tree for about a decade.

The practical rule: plant Christmas trees at least 20 feet from the house and well clear of power lines, even if you fully intend to cut them. A tree you decide to keep will be grateful for the room, and so will your gutters. Our guide to evergreen trees by zone covers how these same species perform as permanent landscape trees if you change your mind.

Shearing: what turns a tree into a Christmas tree

An unsheared conifer grows tall, open and gappy. The dense cone shape you see on a lot is the result of trimming every summer for most of the tree's life. It is less work than it sounds on a few backyard trees, but the timing has to be right, and the timing depends on the type of tree.

Pines: shear in early summer, on a short schedule. A pine sets new buds only at the tips of its shoots. Each spring those tip buds stretch into soft new shoots called candles. Cut the candles back by about half while they are still soft and bendy, usually a two to three week window from mid June to early July in most of the country, and the tree forms new buds at the cut ends. Cut after the shoots harden and turn woody, and no buds form, which leaves bare stubs.

Firs and spruces: shear any time from midsummer through winter. Firs and spruces have buds all along their shoots, not just at the tips. That gives you a much wider window. Most growers shear after the new growth has hardened in mid to late summer, but a light trim in late fall or winter works too.

How to shear, step by step:

1. Start in the third or fourth field season, once the tree is about 3 feet tall. Before that, just remove any second leader that tries to compete with the main one.
2. Cut the leader first. Trim the top shoot back to 10 to 12 inches long, cutting at an angle just above a bud. A leader left 2 feet long makes an open gap in the tree that takes years to fill.
3. Shape the sides into a cone. Using a long shearing knife or hedge shears, cut the side branches so the tree tapers from a wide base to the tip. Growers aim for a width at the bottom of roughly two thirds of the tree's height, so a 6 foot tree is about 4 feet across at the base.
4. Take off the lowest whorl of branches in year four or five, clearing 8 to 12 inches of bare trunk. That becomes the handle that goes into the stand, and it improves air flow around the base of the tree. Save those limbs and the summer shearing trimmings, because fir and pine tips are the best raw material for a fresh greenery garland.
5. Repeat every year until the season you cut it. Skip one year and the tree loses its dense look for two.

Nordmann fir and Fraser fir need the lightest touch of the common species. Pines need the most.

Planting a few Christmas trees in a backyard

You do not need a farm. A patch of lawn 20 by 25 feet holds a dozen trees, which is enough for one tree a year for the better part of a decade if you replant as you cut.

Choose the site. Full sun, at least six hours a day, with good air movement. Firs need quick drainage, pines tolerate poorer and sandier soil, and none of them want a low, soggy spot. Keep them away from the house, driveway and overhead wires for the reasons above.

Choose the stock. Bare root 2-1 or 2-2 transplants from a state conservation nursery or a specialty conifer nursery are how most growers start. Container grown trees are larger and establish a little more easily, and they let you plant later in spring.

Plant in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked, while the transplants are still dormant. Keep the roots damp and shaded from the moment you open the bundle, since conifer roots that dry out in the wind for even half an hour can die. Plant at the same depth the tree grew in the nursery, which you can see as a color change on the stem, and firm the soil so there are no air pockets.

Space them 5 to 6 feet apart in each direction. Farms typically plant on a grid of about 5 by 5 or 6 by 6 feet. Closer than that and the lower branches shade each other and turn brown before harvest. Our plant spacing calculator will tell you how many trees fit in the area you have.

Control weeds and grass. This is the single biggest factor in how fast a young conifer grows. Keep a 3 foot circle around each tree free of turf, and cover it with 2 to 3 inches of wood chip or bark mulch pulled back a few inches from the trunk. Our mulch guide covers depths and materials.

Water the first two summers. About an inch a week during dry spells. After that, most established conifers manage on rainfall in the eastern half of the country.

Protect them from deer. Young firs and spruces are rarely eaten, but pines can be browsed, and any young tree with a trunk 1 to 4 inches thick is a target for bucks rubbing their antlers in fall. Our list of deer resistant evergreens covers which species deer leave alone and how to guard trunks during the rut.

Cut one, plant one. If you replant a transplant in spring for every tree you cut in December, the patch keeps producing indefinitely.

Stump culture: growing a second tree from the same roots

Some growers of Douglas fir, noble fir and a few other firs leave one or two live branch whorls on the stump when they cut. One of the upturned branches on that stump takes over as a new leader, and because it has a full mature root system underneath, it can reach cutting size in roughly half the time of a new transplant. It does not work on pines or spruces, and it takes some trial and error, but on a firs-only backyard patch it is worth trying on one or two stumps.

Worked example: a 12 tree patch in zone 6b

A family in zone 6b has a sunny, well drained corner of the yard about 18 by 24 feet. The soil test comes back at pH 5.8. They plant in April 2027 and want their first homegrown tree as soon as possible, then one a year after that.

The plan. They plant three rows of four trees on a 6 foot grid, mixing species so the harvests stagger:

• Row 1: four eastern white pine, 2-1 transplants
• Row 2: four Fraser fir, 2-2 transplants
• Row 3: four Nordmann fir, 2-2 transplants

What happens:

Counting 2027 as field year one, the white pines are ready in year six, the Fraser firs in about year nine, and the Nordmann firs in about year eleven. Trees that are ready before their turn simply stand in place and get taller, which is why the patch can hand over one tree every December from year six on instead of three in the same season.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to grow a Christmas tree from seed?

Usually 10 to 14 years for a 6 to 7 foot Fraser fir, counting two to four years in a nursery bed plus seven to ten years in the field. Nordmann fir takes 12 to 15 years from seed, pines about 8 to 10, and Leyland cypress, which is grown from cuttings, about 4 to 6. Most home growers skip the seed stage and plant transplants.

What is the fastest growing Christmas tree?

Leyland cypress, which can add 3 feet a year and reach cutting size in 3 to 5 years in zones 7 and 8. Among the traditional needled trees, Virginia pine is fastest in the Southeast at 4 to 6 years, and eastern white pine and Scotch pine reach size in about 6 to 8 years across most of the North.

How much does a Fraser fir grow each year?

Only 2 to 6 inches a year in its first two field seasons, then about 12 to 18 inches a year once established. Growers keep the top shoot trimmed to 10 to 12 inches during shearing, so a sheared Fraser fir gains a little under a foot of height a year on paper.

Why is my Nordmann fir not growing?

Most likely it is still establishing. Nordmann fir commonly adds only 3 to 6 inches a year for its first three or four seasons after planting before speeding up. If it has been in the ground longer than that, check for poor drainage, competing grass around the trunk, and deer or rodent damage at the base.

Can I plant Christmas trees in my backyard?

Yes. Plant bare root or container transplants in early spring in full sun and well drained soil, 5 to 6 feet apart, and at least 20 feet from the house. Keep grass out of a mulched circle around each tree, water during the first two summers, and shear each year once the trees are about 3 feet tall.

When should I shear my Christmas trees?

Pines must be sheared in early summer, usually mid June to early July, while the new candles are still soft. Firs and spruces can be sheared from midsummer, after the new growth hardens, through the winter. In every species, trim the leader back to 10 to 12 inches and shape the sides into a cone.

What happens if you never cut a Christmas tree?

It keeps growing into a full size forest tree. A Fraser fir left in a yard usually reaches 30 to 50 feet, a Nordmann fir 40 to 60 feet, and an eastern white pine 50 to 80 feet. A tree that was sheared for years stays dense at the bottom for a while, then opens up as it grows past its sheared shape.