Christmas Trees

Abstract

Introduction: Approximately 33 million natural Christmas trees were used in the U.S. in 1998. Given a conservative wholesale value of $10.00 per tree, the value of the trees alone approaches $330 million. When associated products are added to the picture, total value is well above $0.5 billion. The National Christmas Tree Association estimates the average retail price for Christmas trees in 1998 at $3.45 to $6.30 per ft. Based on a standard 6to 7-ft tall (2 m) tree, the retail value of natural Christmas trees approaches $1.5 billion. About 25% of the live Christmas trees consumed in the U.S. are sold on Choose-N-Cut farms. This means that 75% of the trees experience some form of storage and shipment after harvest. Storage and shipment times can be several weeks for trees shipped between countries, or less than one day for trees sold in local markets. Natural Christmas trees quickly lose quality if handled improperly. People who grow, sell, handle or use Christmas trees should know something about tree keepability. This is true of the consumer who may use only one tree each year, as well as brokers or growers who handle thousands of trees. Many publications have been written concerning postharvest physiology, handling and keepability of Christmas trees. Despite this, there is often ignorance of the subject, resulting wasted trees, reduced tree quality, erroneous information or dissatisfied consumers. In this article, we provide a summary of information concerning Christmas tree keepability.