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Key characteristics

Family: Pinaceae
Height: 1 to 2 ft
Width: 2 to 3 ft
Flower color: None; produces small cones, not flowers
Foliage color: Silvery-blue / gray-green needles with bright white undersides
Light: Full sun to part shade
Water: Moderate
Maintenance: Low; no pruning required
Growing zone: USDA zones 4 to 8
Wildlife: Dense foliage offers year-round shelter for small birds and wildlife; pollen and small cones may provide food or nesting material for some birds and small mammals

Shrubs

Abies koreana 'Kohout's Ice Breaker'

Kohout's Ice Breaker Korean Fir

Abies koreana 'Kohout's Ice Breaker' is a dwarf, slow-growing evergreen fir with strongly curled needles that twist around the stems, revealing their silvery-white undersides. This creates an overall silvery-blue sheen across the dense foliage. When young, it grows as a globe-shaped mound, and over time may evolve into a small, broadly pyramidal form. In spring, it produces small upright cones and fresh shoots, providing subtle seasonal interest amid the silvery foliage.

Light

Full sun to part shade

Water

Moderate

Bloom time

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Find this plant

Works well in

Containers
Rock Gardens
Specimen Plants
Foundation Plantings

Companion plants

Yarrow · Caryopteris · Sea holly · Winton rock rose · Penstemon · Blue fescue

Design tip

Place this distinctive conifer where its unusual texture becomes a natural focal point without competing with larger evergreens nearby. Repeat complementary mounded forms and contrasting foliage throughout the planting to create rhythm while preserving a cohesive garden composition.