Anybody else buy live trees for X-mas?

[Paddy]

Moss,

Same for us, we go natural. I started this thread to ask if any one get the Live as in can be planted. Since we are trying to build the green on our lake lot, it makes some sence. Balled whites are expensive considering they grow so fast. I think last year I paid $60-$70 for a large white. That's high considering I can get an ugly 3-4' trees for under $10 and they soon will be 6' tall and nice!

My kids are off at school now but the wife and I still go real. If I ever get the urge to skip the work, I'll just go small but fresh...like the Charle Brown tree

 

[Paddy]

Gatorboy,

speaking of man's effect on the climate, Read "State of Fear" by Michel Criton(sp) same author as Jurasic park. Lots of questioning of so called data.

 

[MossRoad]

Moss,

Same for us, we go natural. I started this thread to ask if any one get the Live as in can be planted. Since we are trying to build the green on our lake lot, it makes some sence. Balled whites are expensive considering they grow so fast. I think last year I paid $60-$70 for a large white. That's high considering I can get an ugly 3-4' trees for under $10 and they soon will be 6' tall and nice!

My kids are off at school now but the wife and I still go real. If I ever get the urge to skip the work, I'll just go small but fresh...like the Charle Brown tree

The price of balled and burlapped trees is crazy. We had 2,150 trees planted and side sprayed for $265.00 after Gov't rebate. It would have been a thousand without. That is cheap. As the hippies would say, "Grow your own, maaaan."

 

[Paddy]

MossRoad,

Where did you get your trees? Where these the bare root types? I'm in Indiana too, just further South. How long ago did you plant? I wish I started years ago. Will be moving from our 20 wooded ac to our 3 ac lake lot. Though we are at the end of a 1 mi private road of vacation homes, we close house. I have been working on creating walls of pines around the perimeter.

 

[radman1]

Our family has been selling christmas trees on our farm for about 20-25 years. We have about 8 acres and sell about 400-500 scotch or austrian pines each year. Takes about 6-8 years to get a 6' tree. Plant new trees next to the cut trees and just rotate the area. My eight siblings did most of the work in the past. Now most of us "kids" are now in our 40's and 50's but our kids help out a lot. We will probably stop selling in 5-6 more years because our kids are getting older and so are we. All of our trees sell for $30 including tax, regardless of height. I usually pick out a "charlie brown" tree each year. Usually it is a tree most others won't buy but when decorated they always look great. May have a forked trunk or bad side but when in a corner or against a wall they look great. We also have a 44" tree spade and sell live trees as well.
Some people can find the "perfect tree" in five minutes and others can spend 2 hours looking. I always like the ones who find a tree, then look another 10 minutes and can't find their original perfect tree.
To answer the original question, yes I always get real christmas tree. When I was a kid, our family would go out in our pasture and cut down the "perfect cedar tree".

 

[mathey]

Almost ditto to what Radman said...my FIL has been in the Christmas tree business for 22 years now, and gets a little larger each year. Started out as a side thing and he did all the typical farmer stuff (corn, soybeans, hay/straw etc...) but now only does trees. He now has about 200,000 trees spread throughout a bunch of farms in MD and PA...he does a lot wholesale but one farm is cut-your-own.

Rad was right - some people spend 5 minutes and some 5 hours to pick a "perfect" tree. Gotta love the parents who let the small kids decide and then you see them biting their tongues over the tree they've picked.

We have a pretty large crew working which a bunch of us are family, a bunch are guys who worked there when they were in high school and have come back and a new bunch of high school guys who aren't afraid to work hard. I started working for him when I was 14 (that's how I met my wife!) and still work weekends almost year round - so off and on I've worked for him for 30 years.

We have some great fun doing this - and I've met some amazing people (both good and bad!) - I wouldn't trade it for anything.

here's a link if you'd like to see some photos... Sewell's Farm - Superior Quality Maryland Christmas Trees since 1984

 

[MossRoad]

MossRoad,

Where did you get your trees? Where these the bare root types? I'm in Indiana too, just further South. How long ago did you plant? I wish I started years ago. Will be moving from our 20 wooded ac to our 3 ac lake lot. Though we are at the end of a 1 mi private road of vacation homes, we close house. I have been working on creating walls of pines around the perimeter.

Contact your county extension agent. They can put you in touch with the state forester or state biologist. They can tell you about any tree programs that are currently available in Indiana. Depending on the soil type, slope, and proximity to a water shed, there may be programs that will pay all or part of the cost of the trees and planting. Check into conservation reserve programs, too.

 

[Paddy]

MossRoad,

We are on Lake Monroe so you may be right, water shed issues are big. When my wife and I fist started going to her grandmothers land, ours now, it was mostly a bush hogged slope. I have been removing scrub trees for 15 years.

If you get a chance, take a photo of your pine lot and tell us when it was planted. Sounds like a nice project.

 

[MossRoad]

MossRoad,

We are on Lake Monroe so you may be right, water shed issues are big. When my wife and I fist started going to her grandmothers land, ours now, it was mostly a bush hogged slope. I have been removing scrub trees for 15 years.

If you get a chance, take a photo of your pine lot and tell us when it was planted. Sounds like a nice project.

Here goes...
Attached is a picture of our place outlined in blue. The pines are pretty obvious in rows. That's about 4 acres of pines. In between each row of pines is a row of mixed hardwood trees. They were planted around 1990 or 91. Now they are 30-35' tall. You can see by the lack of gaps that we only lost maybe 20 trees since they were planted. We never watered them. They were side sprayed for weeds the day they were planted. We mowed the rows for the next five years. Since then we have done nothing to them.

 

[Paddy]

MossRoad,

Very impressive pine grove. Your land is nice as well. Looks like you have a ridge covered in mature hardwoods and a good sized creek.

I bet that has a neet feel to stand in the middle of the grove and look down the rows.

Thanks for posting your Photo

Patrick