Christmas Trees

[tara g]

When I was younger, we had a real tree for a few years....until the cats realized they could get themselves up to the top, and knock the tree over!! Since then we've had fake trees. My parents currently have THREE (how did they end up with 3...) They are going to give us one, but unfortunately our house will not be done by Xmas

 

[going nova]

Originally Posted by spudsmom

It's a crop here...they don't go out into the woods and chop down trees at random.

I've always wondered... how long does it take to grow a Christmas tree?

 

[swampwitch]

We can't have real trees because of my allergies.

 

[spudsmom]

Originally Posted by Going Nova

I've always wondered... how long does it take to grow a Christmas tree?

The most popular sizes....6-7' & 7-8' take about 6-8 years to grow. So about a foot a year, but that is not set in stone. There are a lot of things that can affect the trees growth like climate and location. I asked my DH this question and he went on and on, so I'm condensing it to what I understood.

 

[calico2222]

We always had read trees when I was growing up, then when I was in high school my parents bought an artificial tree, and I have to laugh when people say they are so much easier. Of course, my mom loved HUGE trees (we had 10 ft ceilings) so of course they bought a 10 ft tree...and each branch had to go on individually. It took close to 2 hours to put together and by the end your hands hurt so much from bending and unbending the branches I kept thinking that a real tree was so much easier!

It WAS the realist looking fake tree I've ever seen though.

DH and I get real trees. We normally don't put it up until 1-2 weeks before Christmas. I wouldn't recommend getting it from Lowes or someplace like that if you have other options. First, the price is jacked up so high it's ridiculous. Plus they are normally shipped in so they aren't very fresh when you first buy them. I didn't see where you lived, but we have a few tree farms in the area that set up stands normally in a parking lot and those trees are usually fresh cut, last longer and are cheaper. Last year we got a 7ft tree for $40. I agree with the spruce. They do seem to hold their needles longer, but they are prickly.

Spuds, are Balsam trees one of the long needle variety? I seem to remember getting a VERY sappy long needle tree once when I was little. It looked and smelled great, but I felt like I had to take a shower everytime I fooled with it!

Get twine or wire to hold it up (especially if it is a bigger tree). We have eye hooks in the corner of the room just for that. I would recommend getting a tree skirt (or better yet, use and old white sheet...they're bigger) to catch as many needles as you can. We always used a mixture instead of just water. I was water, karo syrup, and something else...I have it written down here somewhere, but I guess the sugar helped keep the tree fresher longer. I'll post it once I find it.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[gailc]

I never had anything but a real tree. My dad grew christmas trees as a hobby business (paid for my wedding expenses!!).

Wisconsin is a large producer of Christmas trees and there are lots and lots of cut your own places. We do that usually but when I was up at our property Thursday I saw a nice shaped balsam at the outskirts of the woods that looks like it was possibilities!! Just have to find it again. Most tree farms shear their trees to get them nice and full.

The popular ones up here are fraser fir or balsam. I've gotten a concolor fir if I can find them. I've also had scotch pine and spruce (too picky!). Some varieties have stronger branches for holding ornaments that others.

I don't usually get mine till about the 15th of December usually due to time. If its freshly cut just pop into a christmas tree stand which I put a board under. Don't tighten as the tree might need some work to have it be straight up and down. Then put water in stand. A fresh tree will suck up alot of water for first few days so if you set up in afternoon check before bedtime and then in morning for water.

If you buy a tree already cut check the needles for dryness. Many trees shipped to stores were cut in October already. When its home recut the stem a couple of inches-this is very important to keep from drying out further. Then treat like a fresh cut one.

We've never had to tie it to the ceiling or anything like that-cats/kittens don't seem to bother the tree.