How small does it have to be?

Being famed for my preference of wild-type trees and avoidance of cultivars ;-) guess I'll have to go for Abies squamata, which is probably the slowest-growing fir in the wild, tho' A. koreana runs it close.

In respect of what can grow in your climate, try Abies recurvata, A. chensiensis, and A. holophylla. They'll get large, though.

Resin

I have no idea how it would do in Kwansas, but my fav is A. lasiocarpa var. arizonica 'Compacta'.

A few of my favorite small Abies right now:

Abies lasiocarpa 'Duflon' is a very nice miniature with small dark green foliage and cute little buds.

Abies koreana 'Silberperle' and 'Silberkrugel' are both great miniatures.

Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader' is a great dwarf with gold color.

There are dwarf varieties of white fir as well. Look on the net.

i really like Abies koreana aurea

ken

I am growing both lasiocarpa var. arizonica and abies concolor (dwarf and 'blue cloak') here in Albuquerque in the semi-desert of NM at 5500 ft. in elev. You should have no troubles if you improve the drainage. If I can grow lasiocarpa in the hot, high desert you should be OK in KS! Drainage is a must. Amend the clay soil. Our native Abies in the nearby Sandia Mtns. grow in both decomposed granite and also atop limestone, sometimes on pure rock!
Don't worry so much about the heat. Improve the soil. I can literally show people native Abies concolor growing in the Upper Sonoran zone in the Sandia foothills among pinon, opuntia, junipers, oaks, ponderosa and banana yucca. It is a very hardy species almost equal to ponderosa pine in hardiness here in the SW!

Thank you all for your favorites. I'm going to look into all of them and appreciate hearing about them regardless of if I can grow them or not.

flattie, which do you like better A. lasiocarpa var. arizonica or A. concolor? Also, how large has your 'dwarf' and 'blue cloak' (or even the A. lasiocarpa var. arizonica)grown? Since, I already grow Piñon, Opuntia(both KS native and SW natives), Junipers, Oaks(many native to NM and Mexico), and Banana Yucca, I'm sure I'll have no problems with any A. concolor. Apparently A. concolor does well here, even in our clay soils. Other than humidity and rainfall, I'd say my weather generally is quite similar to a lot of NM, so I often have good success with plants I see growing in Albuquerque for example.

My biggest problem is that most Abies grow too large for where I can plant them. I noticed a few people around who have bought Abies koreana 'silberlocke' and they look to be doing quite well. The few I've seen for sale locally are a bit on the pricey side($350) because they are already large for the cultivar.

I also like to see what other people say is their favorite Fir regardless of whether or not I'll ever attempt to grow their favorite.

I wish I had more experience with both, kman04; I can't really answer. They were both 1 gal. transplants so keep that in mind. Bigger trees may shock more. I have killed bigger burlapped W. fir here in my less knowledgable days. I planted a 1 gal. lasiocarpa var. arizonica from FF a month ago (I thought too late in the season). Since then, we have had 90 degree temps a few days but a generally cool spring and it has continued to grow fine! For an 'alpine' species it is doing great - beyond my expectations. Try 'em both. You probably have a much better summer and winter climate than I do in terms of snow pack, soil moisture, etc.

Thanks for the info and feedback flattie!

Well, we have 0 snow pack about 90% of the time, but soil moisture tends to be alright, mostly because of low evaporation rates and timely rain/ice/snow. I'd like to try'em both, but I just don't have enough room and what little room I have left is reserved for more Mexican Oak species. hehe