Tree Farming
Only about 1.2 million Christmas trees are grown in California each year, which represents about 25% of the statewide market for live trees, according to the California Christmas Tree Growers, a trade group based in Alamo. Oregon and Washington, by comparison, grow about 5 million trees each, and together supply about 25% to 30% of the nation’s trees.
The most common Christmas tree grown on California’s choose-and-cut farms is the Monterey Pine, a native of California’s Monterey Peninsula, according to the growers association. It isn’t generally available on retail lots, according to industry sources. It has a deep green color, needles four to five inches long and a strong pine fragrance. Growers say it is a fast-growing tree that takes four to five years to reach harvest size and is among the longest-lasting trees when the stem is recut and the tree is kept in water.
The most popular tree found on retail lots is the plantation-grown Douglas fir. Most sold in California come from the Pacific Northwest, but the tree also grows in the colder, moister regions of Northern California.
The highest-priced tree found on California retail lots is the Silvertip or Red fir, which grows only in high elevations and takes 12 or more years to reach harvest size. The species is available on choose-and-cut farms in the Sierras.
The growers association projects an average tree price this season of $23.65, or about the same as last season. Some choose-and-cut farms charge by the foot--in some cases about $5 per foot. Trees are available as tall as 12 feet.
In addition to pests, tree farms have to worry about thieves who sneak in a night and help themselves. Federal officials have come up with a creative deterrent to pilfering trees from public lands.
In some areas, trees have been sprayed with a compound that is odorless and colorless, but produces a horrible smell hours after the tree is cut. It smells “something like a reindeer that’s been dead in the living room for a few weeks,” said an official interviewed recently on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition news program.
