Wow...that looks like a great looking tree, like the araukaria... would love to try if it withstands the winters.. I am zone 5, I've never seen anything like this tree. Where would you buy one?

Hi! We used to have 2 China Fir trees before Hurricane Katrina. After Hurricane Katrina I have 2 arbors and 3 trellis poles made from them. :) Nice smelling wood. Our cat specifically went to this tree to sharpen his claws and now goes to the arbor posts to do the same. Maybe he likes the smell too, or maybe it's the shaggy bark. ??? Wish we still had them as trees, but the suckers are not hard to start in water or moist soil. We used to live in Indiana and I don't remember seeing them there. After Katrina, they are fairly rare around here, but not hard to grow. I have not seen them as far north as you, but it's worth a try. Very nice trees.

I have a full sized China Fir tree in my side yard outside Washington, DC. I agree that it is a beautiful tree, with redwood-like bark and unique needles and round cones; beautiful�most of the time. The autumn die-off (and drop off) ain�t pretty, though. When I first bought this house in May of 2009, a neighbor asked me if I liked the (China Fir) tree and I said I did; then he told me that I won�t like it so much in about six months when I find myself knee-deep in dead branches � and he was right. Every fall, for at least four months, this tree drops copious amounts of branches (not "leaves" or "needles" or "cones", but whole branches). The annual pile of debris from this one (80â²+ tall) tree is literally the size of a minivan; the local municipality�s leaf vacuum truck can�t collect them; the stiff, dried branches poke holes in the toughest of leaf bags, and I have to pay for a "special pickup" to get rid of the mess. Throughout the drop off period, every time the wind blows, branches bombard my roof and fill my gutters.

I hate to be a wet blanket on this blog, but those considering buying and planting one of these beautiful trees in their yard should beware of the down side of owning one.