Type of Trees Available
There are many different kinds of trees
which make beautiful Christmas Trees. Each has its advantages and ultimately
personal preference will determine what you purchase.
For maximum fragrance we recommend the KC Virginia Pine.
We sell seven kinds of choose and cut trees, one variety of pre-cut tree, and
five varieties of balled and bur lapped trees for planting out after Christmas.
ALL TREES choose and cut and pre-cut are guaranteed to hold their needles
through January 1st – except for Norway Spruce cut
before December 10th. One might see a few dead needles under any tree, fresh or
pre-cut, but this is normal as Christmas trees shed their needles (leaves) in
the same way other trees do – just that they do it every two or three years.
Sometimes needles also get caught in the branches from prior years “leaf” drop!
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WHITE PINE: The most popular tree has been the white pine. It will hold its
needles for months and has a beautiful color. People especially appreciate
the soft needles, which even when dry do not prick one. We shear our trees
extra heavily so the branches are stronger than the average white pine, but
if you have many very heavy ornaments you might want to consider a stiffer
branched tree such as the Scotch Pine, Blue Spruce or Colorado Spruce. As a
balled and bur lapped tree (B&B) this is a fast grower, forming a very
large tree, with open habit, in a few years. |
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SCOTCH PINE: This pine is
the second most popular choose and cut Christmas tree. It has a shorter
needle than the white pine, but will hold its needles an equal length of time
- for two months and more. Needles are not soft like the white pine and can
be a bit prickly -gloves are useful when setting it up! Branches are very
stiff and will take extra heavy ornaments. When in the fields you might
notice that some scotch pines will have longer needles than others - choose
the length you like the most - they are all equally long lasting. Scotch Pine
is a slower grower than the white pine and subject to more diseases, but is a
handsome and unusual tree for the garden. |
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NORWAY SPRUCE: This
is our next most popular tree. It has a short needle like the old fashioned balsam,
quite stiff branches for hanging ornaments and a beautiful shape. It does not
retain its needles very well and we recommend that it be cut no more than 15
days before Christmas. Due to genetic differences in the trees, some will
hold their needles quite well for longer than that, while others will start
to shed sooner. A superb B&B tree - graceful hanging boughs after a few
years, fast grower and can reach enormous heights - not for planting in a
small area (see Red Cedar and Blue Spruce). |
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Sold Out – COLORADO SPRUCE: Colorado
spruce comes in a wide variety of colors - from deep green to intensely
silver blue. Only when trees are grown from cuttings can color be controlled.
Seedlings, which most of ours are, vary considerably in color, but all make
superb cut trees as well as beautiful landscaping trees in this area,
especially as they will grow in clay soil (well drained) and are very disease
resistant. Needles are short and prickly and will remain on the tree for well
over a month. Very stiff branches will take very heavy ornaments. Beautiful
shape. Limited quantities. As a B&B a very slow grower well suited for
smaller areas, with a beautiful shape and color. It may be lightly sheared
when planted out to control its width and height. |
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Sold Out - CONCOLOR: (White fir) Concolor fir is native to the eastern United States and
Canada. They have a wonderful foliage color; needles are long and curled with
a silvery-green color. Needle retention is excellent. With that one of kind
look and pleasing natural shape the Concolor emits a zesty orange fragrance.
For those allergic to the pine scent, this tree may be a substitute with
their fruity orange fragrance. |
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Sold Out -WHITE SPRUCE: We have a few of these trees growing in the fields. They have a
beautiful shape, short needle, stiff branches and beautiful blue/silver
color. Needle retention is better than Norway Spruce, less good than Scotch
or White Pine. For those allergic to the pine scent, these trees may be a
substitute as they lack the distinctive fragrance of the pines, firs and
spruces (though they have an unusual fragrance of their own). |
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RED CEDAR:
This is a very popular tree throughout
the south. It holds its needles very well but has very soft branches which
will carry light ornaments beautifully. It is especially useful where there
is limited space and tall ceilings. One can get a tree 12 feet tall which is
only 4 feet wide. A nicely fragrant tree. As balled and bur lapped, this tree
is a real survivor - will grow almost anywhere from a mountain top to a near
swamp, with a beautiful columnar shape. It may be sheared quite heavily to
provide a bushy specimen or to keep its height down |
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LEYLAND CYPRESS: Similar
to the Red Cedar but with a softer needle and slightly wider for its height. Popular
in the south as well. Limited quantities - ask an elf for locations! This
tree as a balled and bur lapped tree grows exceptionally fast in the garden!
It may be very heavily sheared as a hedge or allowed to grow into a tree of
quite immense size. Truly a wonder tree introduced from the gardens at Kew,
England. In good soils, it will grow as much as 4 feet per year! Must be
careful to keep ball unbroken as has shallow root system. Tree should be
staked for first year when planted out. |
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VIRGINIA PINE: An old fashioned
tree which is becoming very popular and which holds its needles very well.
The needles are medium length, softer and longer than a scotch pine's, but
stiffer and shorter than a white pine's. The tree is EXTREMELY FRAGRANT and
has nice stiff branches for extra heavy ornaments. The needles are sometimes
curly which gives it an unusual, happy look. Note that this makes a very
hardy tree as a B&B which will grow ANYWHERE!! (And makes a great tree
for tree climbing.) |
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Pre-Cut FRASER FIR: Fraser Fir is now one of the most popular pre-cut
trees sold and the price reflects the shortage of supply. We cannot grow this
tree in our area as the elevation is too low, so we purchase it from growers
we have worked with for many years. It has a short needle and stiff branches.
The needles are dark green in color with a light underside. We anticipate
having a limited number of a first cousin of this tree available for choose
and cut and B&B in another year. We have a few other “cousins” which we
do grow on the farm such as Balsam Fir – but they sell out quickly! |
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DOUGLAS FIR: This tree we mainly sell as a pre-cut tree, though we do have a few
available for choose and cut. The Douglas Fir has a soft, short needle which
generally holds well on the tree if properly taken care of (again stand in a
location where it is not too hot and keep lots of water in the tree stand).
Branches will hold most ornaments, though if they are very heavy try to
choose a tree which has been extra heavily sheared so as to have stiffer
branches. If stored outside before setting up in the house, do NOT let it
FREEZE HARD as this will dramatically shorten its life. Best to store inside
an unheated garage. |
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Balled and Bur
lapped (B&B):
Our most popular balled and bur lapped trees
are Scotch Pine, White Pine, KC Virginia Pine, Red Cedar and Norway Spruce.
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