The combination of form, needle retention, dark blue-green color, pleasant scent and excellent shipping characteristics has led to Fraser fir being a most popular Christmas tree species. Wisconsin ranks only behind North Carolina in the production of Fraser fir Christmas trees. It requires from 7 to 10 years in the field to produce a 6-7 feet tree.

Sometimes referred to as ""...the Cadillac of Christmas trees.", the sturdy Fraser boughs can support dense decoration. Its soft short needles present a deep bluish-green color. The tree has springy branches, that cascade downward, creating steady, strong, and straight branches ready for decoration.

In many respects, Fraser fir and balsam fir are quite similar. Some scientists even suggest that because of the many similarities, the two species were once a single species which has since evolved into the present-day forms.

Fraser fir is a uniformly pyramid-shaped tree which reaches a maximum height of about 80 feet and a diameter of 1-1.5 feet. Strong branches are turned slightly upward which gives the tree a compact appearance.

Fraser fir was named for John Fraser (1750-1811), a Scot botanist who explored the southern Appalachian Mountains in the late 18th century. The species is sometimes called Southern balsam or Southern balsam fir. Locally Fraser fir is known as "She balsam" because of the resin filled blisters on the tree's trunk. Red spruce, often associated with Fraser fir, is called "He balsam" and lacks the distinctive blisters.

Bark is usually gray or gray-brown, thin, smooth with numerous resin blisters on young trees. As trees become older, the bark tends to develop into thin, papery scales.