A Christmas tree may be a fir, spruce, pine, or other evergreens that are common in any particular region.
Trees that are most commonly used as Christmas trees throughout the country are spruces or firs.
These two make up the bulk shipped to practically all parts of the United States
The balsam fir, Abies balsamea, is the most popular.
It grows naturally in the northeastern part of the United States, west to the Great Lake states in the middle West and Canada, and south as far as Virginia in the higher elevations.
Balsam Fir
The balsam fir is by far the best kind to use indoors as a Christmas tree. It grows quickly and is a good shipper.
Harvesting is begun in November when the woodsmen start cutting the trees and carting them away.
They are then bundled and loaded on freight cars and started to their destinations in the various parts of the country.
Many trees arrive in the cities around the first part of December, with the bulk of the shipments coming in around the middle of the month.
Balsam Fir’s Noteworthy Needles
The balsam fir is a sturdy, upright tree with soft, flat, light green needles.
These fir trees do not shed their needles like the hemlocks and spruces, making them an ideal tree for Christmas decoration indoors.
The needles turn to a golden brown color after they have dried up without falling off.
Balsam fir needles are delightfully fragrant, often dried, used for pillows, etc. The bark of the tree is also a beautiful grayish color.
Keeping The Fir Tree Fresh
It is helpful to place the bottom of the trunk in the water to keep your tree fresh while it serves its purpose as a decoration.
Special tree holders on the market will hold a quantity of water; these containers should be kept filled at all times.
Before setting up your tree, make a new cut on the bottom of the trunk and also strip off several inches of bark on the lower end, which will rest in the water.
This will allow the tree to absorb the water. In addition, it is said that adding sugar to the water will have a preservative effect.
(Use about a cup and a half of sugar per gallon of water.)
Canadian And Carolina Hemlock
The Canadian and Carolina hemlock is often used for Christmas trees and various spruces.
The chief drawback to these varieties is that they do not retain their needles for any time.
They will shed their needles within a few days after being brought into a hot room.
There are, however, many spruces especially grown for the Christmas trees.
Many are harvested when they are about 18” to 24” inches in height and dipped in different colored dyes.
These are also shipped throughout a good part of the States.
Pines: Most Popular Christmas Tree
The pines are also becoming more popular as Christmas trees. The white pine with its soft, light, grayish-green needles is best for this use.
A tree of this sort, about 5′ to 8′ feet in height, makes a beautiful tree if it has plenty of room to grow and is not crowded by others.
However, pines are more open and informal than the firs and spruces, and like the first, their needles will dry on the trees without shedding to the extent that the hemlocks and spruces do.
Then, too, they are not as hard to handle as the spruces with their sharp, stiff needles.
Fraser Balsam Fir “Abies Fraseri”
Going farther south, the Fraser balsam fir, Abies fraseri, is widely used.
This tree resembles its northern cousin, the balsam fir, but is native to the mountains of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, where it grows abundantly in the higher elevations.
From this region, it is harvested and shipped throughout the Southern states.
The Carolina hemlock is used in this region, too, but like the Canadian hemlock, it sheds its needles rapidly.
Although its range of growth is more limited than the Canadian hemlock, it is considered a handsome tree.
It grows most abundantly in the mountains from Virginia to northern Georgia.
Another tree commonly used in the South is the southern red spruce, Picea rubens.
It grows abundantly in the Appalachian areas from Canada to Georgia.
Douglas Fir Or Spruce
Out West, the Douglas fir is widely used. These are shipped from the Rocky Mountain areas.
This handsome evergreen, Pseudotsuga taxifolia, is also commonly called the Douglas spruce, red fir, or red spruce.
The needles are from ¾” to 1 ¼” inches long, flat, and dark green.
Another common fir in this region is the silver fir, Abies concolor. It is a very ornamental tree, having long, flat bluish-green needles.
Picea Pungens “Colorado Spruce”
Picea pungens, blue spruce, or Colorado spruce are also widely used in this region.
It makes a beautiful living Christmas tree when planted in a tub and can be used in almost any part of the country for this purpose.
A living tree planted on the lawn or about the home grounds can also be used as an outdoor Christmas tree.
Many homeowners use such a tree and decorate it with colored lights, which make a lovely effect.
Other Spruce trees adapt themselves very well for this purpose.
These include:
- Norway Spruce
- Blue Spruce
- Red Spruce
- White Spruce
If you are planting a tree with this in mind, do not plant a balsam fir because it will not adapt to the city or many suburban conditions, as it grows best only in its native environs of the cool, moist forest.
Evergreen Tree For Decorations
It is said that the custom of using an evergreen tree for decorations was brought to America by German immigrants or by the Hessian soldiers who served in the Revolutionary War.
The selling of Christmas trees was first started in New York in the early 1850s when several loads of trees were brought to New York City on sleds from the Catskills and sold on the streets of that city.
At first, before the custom was established, it was considered a waste of our trees and not a good practice of conservation to cut all of these trees for decorative purposes.
Millions of trees are grown just for this purpose, and methods of conserving and preserving our watersheds and woodlands are practiced.
In the same instance, this industry gives employment to many persons and an added income from many a farm woodlot.
There is no other use of a tree that contributes more to the joy of man than the Christmas tree.
44659 by Arthur B. Pausch