The countdown is underway and Christmas is coming, this has people turning their attention to their favorite tree farm to pick out their prize tree. What are the 7 of the most popular Christmas trees and what makes them so popular?
TREE FARMING IS A LARGE BUSINESS
Christmas trees are grown in all 50 U.S. states including Alaska and Hawaii. There are more than 20,000 North American Christmas tree growers, 95 percent of the trees they produce are sold or shipped directly from tree farms that are in the business of growing trees. Contrary to popular belief trees cut for Christmas are not taken from the forest, but are grown on large plantations.
7 of the Most Popular Christmas Trees
Balsam Fir – Balsam firs have rich green needles, normally in a two-tone coloring, a natural conical shape, and excellent needle retention after being cut. The branches are more flexible than the other fir varieties in my experience, skip the heavy ornaments with this tree.
The tree is notably the most fragrant of all Christmas tree varieties. Balsam fir sap is used to make essential oils, in air freshener and as incense for their fragrant properties. As an added bonus if you have a mouse issue, balsam fir oil is an EPA approved nontoxic rodent repellent.
Douglas Fir – This evergreen in the pine family is native to western North America. The tree is known by Douglas fir, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. The Douglas fir has been a popular choice for a Christmas tree since the 1920s because it is a bushy, full tree.
The leaves are flat, soft, linear and the branches are full and spiral out in all directions.
Fraser Fir – Native to the Appalachian Mountains of the Southeastern United States. The leaves are needle-like; arranged spirally on the twigs but twisted at their bases to form 2 rows on each twig.
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The short needles and healthy look has earned its pick as the White House tree for many years.
Noble Fir – The noble fir is also called red fir and Christmas tree, the tree is a western North American fir, native to the Cascade Range and Coast Range mountains of northwest California and western Oregon and Washington.
The leaves are needle-like, glaucous blue-green above and below with strong bands, and a blunt to notched tip.
White Fir – This tree is native with a long reach from the mountains of western North America from the southern Cascade range in Oregon, south throughout California and into the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir in northern Baja California; west through parts of southern Idaho, to Wyoming; and south throughout the Colorado Plateau and southern Rocky Mountains in Utah and Colorado, and into the isolated mountain ranges of southern Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico.
The leaves are needle-like, flattened, long and wide, green to a powdery blue-green above, and with two grayish-green or blue colored bands below.
White fir is popular as a Christmas tree and for Christmas decoration owing to its soft colored needles, general excellent needle retention, and location abundance making it a popular choice.
Virginia Pine – from Long Island in southern New York south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennessee and Alabama.
Its other main use is on Christmas tree farms, despite having sharp-tipped needles and yellowish winter color. The tree has relatively short needles that are twisted and come in bunches of two, The branches of all pine trees are known for flexibility and were a popular choice of Christmas trees even before traditional stringing lights. The branches were perfect for holding candles.
White Pine – There are two different varieties of white pine, The Eastern and Western.
Eastern– The Eastern white pine is large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lakes region to southeastern Manitoba and Minnesota, United States, and south along the Appalachian Mountains and upper Piedmont to northernmost Georgia.
The needles are bluish- green bundles of 5 and are finely serrated. The branches are spaced about every 18 inches on the trunk with 5-6 branches appearing like spokes on a wagon wheel.
Western– The Western pine is related to the Eastern white pine differing from it in having larger cones, slightly longer-lasting needles with more prominent bluish-green band coloring.
Going to Hunt Down One of the 7 of the Most Popular Christmas Trees
Hunt down the perfect Christmas tree has become a family outing and tradition for many families. If you are worried about the number of trees cut down, don’t worry. The trees are from tree farms that plant two or three trees to replace the one that was harvested. No worries. Go, enjoy!
Looking forward to spending some time with my winter friends.
