Many of us have memories of our parents bundling us up in knit caps and scarves, driving us out to a Christmas tree farm and cutting down the perfect tree.
It?s a memory of tradition so strong that even in the worst weather, people still insist on cutting down their own Christmas trees.
“The real advantage to cutting your own tree is that you get a fresh tree,” said Wayne Thomas, owner of Thomas Tree Farm in Manchester. “The ones you get on the lot, they?ve been cut a long time. The choice here is much better.” Thomas and his wife, Marion, have been selling Christmas trees for the last 35 years.
“It?s something you do as a family that becomes a tradition,” Triadelphia Lake View Farm owner James Brown said.
Brown and his wife, Linda, have been growing Christmas trees to sell for almost 12 years on their farm in Howard County.
Both Brown and Thomas agree that the first two weekends in December are the busiest.
Thomas said that on a busy day, he can sell anywhere from 300 to 400 trees per day. Trees vary in pricing and variety.
Types of trees include blue spruce, Canaan fir, concolor fir, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, Norway spruce, white pine, scotch pine, Serbian spruce, Bosnian pine and balsam fir.
“Nothing compares to a white pine as far as holding needles,” Thomas said. “A close second is the Fraser Fir.”
ThomasTree Farm sets one price for all trees, $35, while other farms, like Triadelphia, set prices based on tree type and size.
“The Cadillac of trees is a big Fraser, [they are] beautiful 16-foot trees that cost around $200,” Brown said. “Cheaper trees are pines, it?s about $30 for a pine, then goes up based on variety.”
Having a live tree in your home also requires some maintenence, as with any living plant.
Christmas trees fare best away from heat and sunlight and need to be watered daily, Thomas said.
