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Most of us realize that Christmas trees are like cabbage or cotton -grown as a renewable crop.
Still, there is a pang of sympathy for the poor little tree. It is whacked down in its youth to serve for a month of spangled and bejeweled glory. Then it is tossed aside with the rest of the excessive holiday debris.
Some people view a balled, burlapped Christmas tree as a living alternative. The tree is spared, the landscape is improved - and with the price of a fresh-cut tree these days, a little extra investment in roots might not seem like a bad idea.
To my mind, the Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) is by far the finest Christmas tree that has ever been cut. But the tree will soon suffer and die without the cool mist, the nightly drops in temperature and buoyant atmosphere of the mountains. The Fraser is naturally found at around 4,000 feet. The trees have been moved to lower elevations, but they have never been moved this low.
Most conifers thrive in cooler climates than we can supply. Even so, a few will do just fine. More consideration should be given to a tree's cultural needs than to our preconceived notions of what a Christmas tree should look like.
Most of the trees that I will discuss need full sun and plenty of room to grow. You can't cut the top out of a conifer and have a decent looking tree, as many power-line "prunings" have shown.
Consider the difficulties involved in dealing with an enormous root ball. Even a small tree will have a large, heavy root ball that will need to be treated rather gingerly. Then add digging a 4-foot-by 3-foot hole in possibly frozen or muddy soil to the list of holiday chores.
The tail end of planting time for evergreens is around the beginning of January. When selecting balled and burlapped trees, make sure that the tree does not move in the ball. Look for a straight trunk with no scrapes or injuries. Container trees should not be excessively root bound. Care should be taken not to damage the ball or trunk while moving the plant around. Never carry the plant by the trunk.
The tree should be heeled in if there are several weeks before it goes in the house. Heeling is partly burying the ball, either in mulch or soil. A pile of leaves is perfect.
The tree should be moved to an unheated garage or porch before bringing it in the house - this is to acclimate it. A few days in these conditions will help it deal with the shock of being in a heated environment.
Find a spot in the house that is away from heat vents and can provide as much natural light as possible. Place the tree in a container filled with gravel and water.
Most important, keep the ball moist, not wet. It should be kept as cool as possible. Crushed ice can be put on the ball, or it can be wrapped in plastic. Keep the use of electric lights to a minimum. The tree should stay in the house no longer than a week. Then it is back to the garage before planting.
Plant the tree at the same depth as the root ball - or with a very slight crown. Remove the burlap from the top and stuff it in the hole. Cut as much of the wire basket as you can to avoid girdling roots in the future. If you are planting a potted tree, make sure to loosen spiraling roots. Mulch and water the plant well as it is planted, and keep it watered in dry spells.
The South is not prime habitat for conifers. Of the selections below, many of the trees reach their full glory in more northern settings. Specialty nurseries may have cultivars with other qualities, such as color, form or height.
?Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana) is a scraggly native that can be pruned into a decent-looking pyramid. It is yellow-green in color and is tolerant of poor, dry, clay soil. It slowly converts from pyramidal to flat topped, and it can reach about 60 feet high by 10 to 30 feet wide. It is usually smaller and is a good choice for naturalizing.
?Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) has soft, long, blue-green needles. It can tolerate some shade. It grows to 80 to 100 feet high and 20 to 40 feet wide. Shearing will keep this fast grower pyramidal. In its natural form, the long-layered branches and brittle wood of the white pine make it very susceptible to ice damage.
?Leyland cypress (X Cupressocyparis leylandii) has been planted to the point of nausea throughout our region. A very fast-growing, short-lived hybrid, the tree has scalelike needles and is dark bluish-green in color. It is more columnar than pyramidal. There are many varieties available.
?Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) has spirally arranged dark-green needles. It grows 50 to 80 feet high and 20 to 30 feet wide. The growth rate is moderate, and it will tolerate some shade. There are several varieties.
?Two spruces do OK in our climate - Norway (Picea abies) and Colorado blue, (P. pungens Glauca). The Norway will develop into a graceful, pendulous branching tree with age; it can grow to 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. Decorating a Norway spruce is somewhat akin to putting pantyhose on a porcupine - a very prickly situation. The Colorado blue is a slower-growing tree of stiffer habit; it is narrower than the Norway. The color of Colorado blue spruce is infinitely variable, and some named varieties are far superior.
?Deodara cedar (Cedrus deodora) is an excellent grower for our region, thus is very popular. It is a very graceful tree, especially when young, with blue-green needles and drooping branches. It can grow 40 to 70 feet high and wide. The nodding top of this tree is a definitive characteristic. It eventually grows into a flat-topped tree.
For more tree-farm listings, call the Alleghany Chamber of Commerce at (800) 372-5473 or visit the chamber's Web site at www.sparta-nc.com/choose.
This is cache, read story here
admin – Fri, 2005 – 11 – 25 16:50
Still, there is a pang of sympathy for the poor little tree. It is whacked down in its youth to serve for a month of spangled and bejeweled glory. Then it is tossed aside with the rest of the excessive holiday debris.
Some people view a balled, burlapped Christmas tree as a living alternative. The tree is spared, the landscape is improved - and with the price of a fresh-cut tree these days, a little extra investment in roots might not seem like a bad idea.
To my mind, the Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) is by far the finest Christmas tree that has ever been cut. But the tree will soon suffer and die without the cool mist, the nightly drops in temperature and buoyant atmosphere of the mountains. The Fraser is naturally found at around 4,000 feet. The trees have been moved to lower elevations, but they have never been moved this low.
Most conifers thrive in cooler climates than we can supply. Even so, a few will do just fine. More consideration should be given to a tree's cultural needs than to our preconceived notions of what a Christmas tree should look like.
Most of the trees that I will discuss need full sun and plenty of room to grow. You can't cut the top out of a conifer and have a decent looking tree, as many power-line "prunings" have shown.
Consider the difficulties involved in dealing with an enormous root ball. Even a small tree will have a large, heavy root ball that will need to be treated rather gingerly. Then add digging a 4-foot-by 3-foot hole in possibly frozen or muddy soil to the list of holiday chores.
The tail end of planting time for evergreens is around the beginning of January. When selecting balled and burlapped trees, make sure that the tree does not move in the ball. Look for a straight trunk with no scrapes or injuries. Container trees should not be excessively root bound. Care should be taken not to damage the ball or trunk while moving the plant around. Never carry the plant by the trunk.
The tree should be heeled in if there are several weeks before it goes in the house. Heeling is partly burying the ball, either in mulch or soil. A pile of leaves is perfect.
The tree should be moved to an unheated garage or porch before bringing it in the house - this is to acclimate it. A few days in these conditions will help it deal with the shock of being in a heated environment.
Find a spot in the house that is away from heat vents and can provide as much natural light as possible. Place the tree in a container filled with gravel and water.
Most important, keep the ball moist, not wet. It should be kept as cool as possible. Crushed ice can be put on the ball, or it can be wrapped in plastic. Keep the use of electric lights to a minimum. The tree should stay in the house no longer than a week. Then it is back to the garage before planting.
Plant the tree at the same depth as the root ball - or with a very slight crown. Remove the burlap from the top and stuff it in the hole. Cut as much of the wire basket as you can to avoid girdling roots in the future. If you are planting a potted tree, make sure to loosen spiraling roots. Mulch and water the plant well as it is planted, and keep it watered in dry spells.
The South is not prime habitat for conifers. Of the selections below, many of the trees reach their full glory in more northern settings. Specialty nurseries may have cultivars with other qualities, such as color, form or height.
?Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana) is a scraggly native that can be pruned into a decent-looking pyramid. It is yellow-green in color and is tolerant of poor, dry, clay soil. It slowly converts from pyramidal to flat topped, and it can reach about 60 feet high by 10 to 30 feet wide. It is usually smaller and is a good choice for naturalizing.
?Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) has soft, long, blue-green needles. It can tolerate some shade. It grows to 80 to 100 feet high and 20 to 40 feet wide. Shearing will keep this fast grower pyramidal. In its natural form, the long-layered branches and brittle wood of the white pine make it very susceptible to ice damage.
?Leyland cypress (X Cupressocyparis leylandii) has been planted to the point of nausea throughout our region. A very fast-growing, short-lived hybrid, the tree has scalelike needles and is dark bluish-green in color. It is more columnar than pyramidal. There are many varieties available.
?Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) has spirally arranged dark-green needles. It grows 50 to 80 feet high and 20 to 30 feet wide. The growth rate is moderate, and it will tolerate some shade. There are several varieties.
?Two spruces do OK in our climate - Norway (Picea abies) and Colorado blue, (P. pungens Glauca). The Norway will develop into a graceful, pendulous branching tree with age; it can grow to 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. Decorating a Norway spruce is somewhat akin to putting pantyhose on a porcupine - a very prickly situation. The Colorado blue is a slower-growing tree of stiffer habit; it is narrower than the Norway. The color of Colorado blue spruce is infinitely variable, and some named varieties are far superior.
?Deodara cedar (Cedrus deodora) is an excellent grower for our region, thus is very popular. It is a very graceful tree, especially when young, with blue-green needles and drooping branches. It can grow 40 to 70 feet high and wide. The nodding top of this tree is a definitive characteristic. It eventually grows into a flat-topped tree.
For more tree-farm listings, call the Alleghany Chamber of Commerce at (800) 372-5473 or visit the chamber's Web site at www.sparta-nc.com/choose.
This is cache, read story here