The Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir, otherwise known as the Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’ or Korean Fir ‘Alpin Star’, Alpin Star Korean Fir, Abies koreana ‘Alpine Star’, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and slow growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its dark green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir belongs to the Pinaceae family, the genus Abies and the species Koreana, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’ (A-beez kor-ee-AH-nuh).
Other popular Pinaceae plants include species like Weeping Japanese Larch, Aurea Serbian Spruce, Photinia X Fraseri, Picea Mariana ‘Nana’, Limbertwig, Weymouth Pine ‘Nana’, Pinus Sylvestris ‘Glauca Nana’, Raspberry Lemonade™ Ninebark, Black Pine, Loblolly Pine, Pinus Mugo ‘Mops’, Nidiformis Norway Spruce, Dwarf Norway Spruce, Abies Concolor ‘Blue Cloak’, Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Deodar Cedar ‘Aurea’, Blue Atlas Cedar ‘Glauca Pendula’, North American White Pine ‘Blue Shag’, Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine, Abies balsamea ‘Nana’, Dwarf Mugo Pine, Mountain Pine ‘Carstens’, Sherwood Compact Mugo Pine, Pinus Contorta Var. Contorta, Dwarf Blue Rocky Mountain Fir and FIRE N ICE Pieris.
As with other Abies’s, the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir is a plant native to the South Korea.
You might be wondering why your Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 6 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a and the ideal climate zone is between 3, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir is a relatively slow grower, which makes things easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’ can grow up to 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) and 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm).
These dimensions make the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir a relatively medium shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful pyramidal shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 30″ (75cm) free so the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’ needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir prefers to have soil with good drainage, and moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, loam, and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir requires soil with loam (silt), which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
The Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir produces some wonderful gold/yellow,pink, bluegreen, and purple/lavender flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir have a beautiful dark green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a needles arrangement in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’ to be around (< 1 inch) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir is well known for its tolerance to drought and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’ will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir will look best in it.
Most Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most asian/zen and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, gravel and rock garden, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir’s best location within your garden is in patio and containers, beds and borders, and in small gardens, others use it for landscaping in a wildlife garden, specimen, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Physocarpus, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Viburnum will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
