Sometimes the reason for buying a live tree for the holidays is the same as for purchasing an artificial tree. In a word, aroma.
The delicious scent of a fresh tree, while intoxicating to some, can bother allergy sufferers. Mold spores on live trees can also be a trigger for allergies. Then again, unless you are storing your artificial tree in a dry, dust-free environment from one year to the next, it can also grow mold.
Pre-lit artificial trees with sturdy branches make decorating easy -- no need to fight with strings of lights and no messy needles. The latter is an important consideration, especially if you don't get around to taking down your tree until Valentine's Day.
Some artificial trees are even pre-decorated. Each year after the holidays, they can be stuffed, decorations and all, into a closet and then pulled out again 12 months later.
While there are many reasons for buying an artificial tree, for most people choosing a live tree hearkens back to childhood memories of families heading out to a neighbourhood tree lot, selecting a frozen tree, and bringing it home to decorate once it was thawed.
Today's discerning consumer wants not only the aroma of a live tree but also the ability to select from species with different characteristics. Even trees from the same species exhibit individual character, with darker shades of green or silvery-coloured needles.
Local garden centres begin receiving deliveries of fresh-cut trees in late November from suppliers as far away as Ontario and Quebec. With rows of full, lush trees suspended from hooks in the greenhouses, customers can quickly see how a particular variety will look in their home.
At Jensen's Nursery on McGillivray Blvd., fir varieties include Fraser, Balsam, Douglas, Nordman and Canaan. But Karl Sorensen, a longtime member of Jensen's greenhouse staff, said the Fraser fir is the most popular choice.
"Fraser fir is top-of-the-line in terms of its density and holding its needles the longest of any other variety," he said. "They don't quite have the fragrance of the balsam but will stay fresh for weeks and weeks."
There is also a second-grade Fraser fir which is slightly less expensive. "It has more open spaces, but also holds ornaments very well," Sorensen said.
Balsam fir has softer, longer needles with branches that are more flexible than those of the Fraser fir. "Heavy ornaments could pull the branches down a little bit," noted Sorensen, who suggests decorating Balsam mainly with twinkly lights and lighter ornaments.
Other varieties to choose from include the bushy-shaped Douglas fir, which has very long, soft needles, and the Nordman fir, which has wide branches and dark-green needles. Great for holding heavy ornaments, the Nordman has very little fragrance and excellent needle retention.
The Canaan fir, native to West Virginia, has a texture similar to that of Balsam fir and is also becoming increasingly popular.
Sorenson stressed that the secret to keeping your live tree looking fresh as long as possible is providing adequate water, a tip that Fred Somerville heartily endoreses. As president and co-owner of Somerville Nurseries, the largest Christmas-tree producer in Ontario, he supplies many of Manitoba's greenhouses with freshly cut trees.
"We are wholesale growers," Somerville said, "When we cut the trees, the sap of the tree forms a scab at the site of the cut which doesn't allow water to come up. But if you take even just a little bit off, about 1/2 inch to one inch, the tree will be able to take up water again."
Unfortunately, some customers have the tree cut at the garden centre but then let it sit for a week in their garage, he added. That defeats the purpose.
"You have to get it into fresh water right away. It will drink a tremendous amount of water for the first several days before slowing down. If you let it dry out, it will scab over again and the needles will drop."
Although Somerville likes the aromatic qualities of Balsam fir, he admires the features of the Fraser fir.
"Its needles are very dark green on the top, so you get a two-toned look which is quite attractive," he said. "It's very nice to decorate because the branches are so stiff and create a V-angle where they meet the tree. It will last six to eight weeks if you keep it steadily supplied with water."
"Christmas trees are a crop like any other crop. We liken them to an agricultural crop. We grow them in rows in fields just like someone might grow corn. When we finish cutting a field, we plant another field. It takes about 10 years to grow a tree, so we have a rotational system."
There are numerous Christmas tree farms in Manitoba. Open for business the first weekend in December, most sell out their supply of trees within two weeks.
Native Manitoba trees differ from the trees brought in from out-of-province suppliers. Fraser fir, for example, is native to the Appalachian mountains in eastern North America and is harder to grow in Manitoba because of our severe climate.
Mike Kisiloski, owner of Country Pines Tree Farm in Tyndall, grows around 1,200 trees per acre on his seven-acre tree farm. Visitors can choose and cut from a selection of Scots pine and White Spruce or from a pre-cut selection of Balsam fir, Fraser fir and White Spruce.
Kisiloski started growing trees in 1991 and says that small communities benefit from attracting city folk out to rural areas.
After attending a session on how to start a Christmas-tree farm, Sid and Cathy Hemminger established one in the cottage-country area of Lac du Bonnet and Pinawa. Now in their third year of business, the Hemmingers count a number of Winnipeggers as clients, with homegrown balsam fir being the most popular choice.
"We've gotten to know the cottage owners, many of whom reside in Winnipeg," Sid said "We take their orders and drop off wreaths and trees at a pre-arranged location."
Rick St. Croix is known to many as the goalie coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs as well as the owner of a hockey school. Every winter, though, he sells Christmas trees that are grown on his tree farm located near Trenton, Ontario. Daughter Richelle takes customer's orders at 204-330-1891, and trees are delivered right to customers' doors.
St. Croix, who has made his trees available to a loyal contingent of Winnipeg customers for more than 20 years, said people are looking for more than a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
"Customers are more demanding nowadays," he said. "Trees shouldn't be so dense that you can't get your hands in there. At the same time, people want the tree to look natural and fluffy."
St. Croix uses the Stand Strait System. "We pre-drill holes in the trunk of the tree and then put it in the stand. The tree stands perfectly straight."
Susan Jensen, co-owner of Jensen's Nursery, admits that this time of year means more physical work than any other time.
"We unload the trees, hang them up, take them down, deliver them -- it's constant," she said. "The trees weigh anywhere from 50 to 100 pounds, but we have so much fun. At nighttime, we have a few of the overhead lights on and it looks very forest-like. Kids love it."
Jensen offers perhaps the best reason for having a live Christmas tree. "Fresh trees leave less of a carbon footprint than fake trees which may consist of plastics from non-renewable petroleum products. After the holidays, trees can be recycled into wood chips."
For a complete listing of Manitoba's Christmas-tree farms, including contact information, visit www.realchristmastrees.mb.ca or call the Manitoba Christmas Tree Growers' Association at 204.453-3182. Free hot apple cider or hot chocolate, marshmallows for roasting, saws and sleds are all part of the experience.
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Remember to recycle your Christmas tree! Visit www.winnipeg.ca for details on depot locations or call 311. And check out the Assiniboine Park Conservatory's holiday display, open every day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Christmas Day).
