TREES TO GO—John Walls loads trees for shipment at Bruner Sides Tree Farm on Bledsoe Creek Road near Sparta. Trucks were being loaded at the time bound for Winston-Salem and Florida.

Christmas tree quality high due to timely late-season rain

Late season rains came in just in time for the Christmas tree crop in Alleghany County and statewide, contributing to better initial hydration, color and overall freshness, said David Isner with the Alleghany office of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service.

"Those rains were fortuitous in being able to help the hydration and tree freshness," said Isner. "That actually means more to the grower from a handling, shipping and keeping standpoint."

In other words, good late season tree weather will help ensure the initial quality of trees offered by retailers. "It ensures the quality and freshness of the trees was at a maximum during shipment and harvest and transport to the retailer," said Isner. Jeff Owen, North Carolina State University area extension forestry specialist who works with Christmas tree growers across the N.C. mountains, agreed that recent rains came just in time to give most N.C. Fraser fir growers a much-needed reprieve from the drought.

"The six to nine inches of rain we had in late October replenished the moisture in the trees before harvest started," Owen stated.

"While the rain didn't come in time to save many Christmas tree seedlings planted in 2007, it was just what the doctor ordered for our market trees."

Owen says after the late October rain, the temperatures dropped, which was the other ingredient needed for a good harvest. With more than two weeks of frosty nights, now-dormant Fraser fir Christmas trees will have a tight hold on their needles. He also says that, in general, the color of the trees harvested this year is excellent.

Fraser firs are well known for their color, strong branches, needle retention and pleasing aroma.

While the initial quality and needle retention of the trees may be positively impacted by the rains and drop in temperatures this fall, Isner noted that nothing is more important than watering trees adequately and consistently.

Once the consumer gets the tree, it is imperative that they make a fresh cut along the bottom of the trunk—taking off at least one-half inch—and place it in a stand filled with water as soon as possible.

"Whether a tree has been cut a day or 20 days, the same process still needs to happen," said Isner.