I had a piece of Norfork Pine as you described. I wasn't thinking of rooting it, but couldn't let it die, so trimmed the broken end and stuck it in a glass of water and set it up in my kitchen window, so I would remember to water it. It kept staying green so I kept it watered. Several months later (maybe close to a year, I can't remember) I noticed one day it had roots starting. I kept it in water until the roots were about an inch long and then planted it in dirt. I kept that plant for about 10 years, until it was so big I had no place for it and gave it to someone who had room for it. It was a beautiful plant, much nicer than the parent plant, which died a couple of years after I rooted the offspring. If you have patience it will work.
I am not sure if this will work on a fir tree but the following instructions definitely work on fruit trees so it's worth a try :-) (I had a plum tree as a little girl that was 'propogated' this way):
Step1 Use a sharp knife to cut a branch that produced fruit during the past summer. Cut the branch at a diagonal. Be sure the cut is clean with no breaks along the circumference of the branch stem.
Step2 Dip the fresh cut into the rooting hormone. Do this immediately as soon as the cut is made. Do not wait even a minute as the hormone will be sucked into the wound as soon as applied if done quickly.
Step3 Place the branch into the pot and surround the branch with a good quality potting soil. Water the pot thoroughly keeping the soil "wet" for at least the first week.
Step4 Apply a good quality fertilizer to feed your tree once the roots have been established. This may be several weeks before the roots begin to take hold.
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