Abies concolor 'Compacta' is an old, slow-growing cultivar of white fir. Time has not left this beauty behind, for no newer cultivar has surpassed the color of its large, powder-blue sickle-shaped needles. Branching can be irregular, producing a potentially odd-shaped tree in the landscape. Typical rate of growth in most areas is 2 to 3.5 inches (5 - 8.8 cm) a year, resulting is a small tree, around 3 feet (1 m) tall by 2 feet (60 cm) wide after ten years in the landscape. It can be left to its natural irregular shape or be pruned round or conical. It grows slowly and does best in sun to part shade in moist rich well-drained soils. It requires climates with cool summers and long winters and does not tolerate clay soils or the humidity.