The Fraser Fir – the most popular Christmas tree species in the world- was named after John Fraser (b.1750 – d. 1811), a Scottish botanist who was exploring the southern Appalachian mountains in the late 18th Century. Through his extensive and challenging travels (there were no planes, trains or automobiles at that time) he collected many specimen of plants including the Abies fraseri - commonly known today as the Fraser Fir.
Does the Fraser Fir have any relatives, you ask? Well, of course it does. The famous cousin to the Fraser Fir is the Abies balsamea – known to all of us as the Balsam Fir.
Now that we know the family, where they love to reside is at elevations above 3,000 feet where the temperatures are cool (downright cold in the winter) and rainfall is plenty. Their native home is in southwestern Virginia, eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.
To say it is a big family is an understatement. They say there are 50 million in North Carolina! Our high volume branch of the Fraser fir family – Shatley Farms – is smack dab in the middle of this beautiful area of the southern Appalachian – Ashe County, North Carolina. We raise our Fraser Fir trees from seed.
When it is time for them to leave the family, we harvest the trees from our extensive farmland in Ashe County, NC to Grayson County, VA. They are packaged then shipped to a retailer near you – and will find a forever home as a beautiful Christmas tree for your family. I guess you could say “Our Family Tree” becomes YOUR Family Tree!
Please take good care of our family member – I’m sure John Fraser would be happy to know his namesake tree continues to bring happiness all over the world every Christmas season.
