All the Trimmings : ALL ABOUT THE MOST POPULAR CHRISTMAS DECORATION
The reported origins of the Christmas tree tradition are varied.
Some say it began in the 8th Century when St. Boniface replaced Odin’s sacred oak with a ceremonial evergreen during his effort to Christianize Germanic Teutons. Others say it grew from the medieval Dec. 24 Adam and Eve’s Day celebration, in which an evergreen “Paradise” tree was decorated with apples for a retelling of the first family’s story.
The first documented references to Christmas trees come from Latvia and Estonia in the early 1500s, when merchants paraded decorated trees through the cities of Riga and Reval during Christmas festivities. By the 17th Century, fir trees decorated with paper roses, glazed fruit and candies were common Yuletide fixtures in European homes.
Careful Handling
Every year a handful of homes are destroyed by Christmas tree fires in Los Angeles. Some growers cut their trees in early November to get them to market on time, causing the tree to be dried out and fire-prone by the time it reaches the buyer.
Be sure the tree you buy is still supple, with no needle loss. Ask the seller to make a fresh cut at the trunk to improve the tree’s ability to absorb water. Trees can consume as much as a gallon of water a day.
Most Christmas tree fires begin because of faulty lights strung in the branches. Never leave a lighted tree unattended and dispose of the tree as soon after Christmas as possible.
Tracing Their Roots
Most growers buy young trees from farms that specialize in raising the tree from a seed to a sapling about 8 inches in height. Saplings can be purchased in bulk for as little as 50 cents each. The most commonly grown tree in Southern California, the Monterey Pine, grows at the rate of one foot per year. The average tree is ready for market in seven years.
Growers may have as many as 1,000 trees on each acre of land, pruning each tree three to four times a year to train the shape. The 40 Christmas tree farms in Los Angeles County usually average no more than two acres.
An estimated 35 million trees, raised on 15,000 Christmas tree farms covering more than 1 million acres, will be sold nationally this year.
Tree Origins Pre-cut Retail lots: 65% “Choose and Cut”: 25% Living: 10%
Pricing Varieties
Ninety percent of the trees sold in Los Angeles come from the Pacific Northwest. The three most common are the Monterey pine, Douglas fir and noble fir.
Characteristics:
Monterey pine: Grows well in warm, dry climates. Long, 3- to 4-inch round needles. Dark green color with bushy branches. Costs about $4.50 a foot.
Noble fir: Wet, cold climate tree, grown in Oregon and Washington. Short, thick 1-inch oval-shaped needles with light green coloring. A sparser branch pattern with lots of room for ornaments. $5.50 per foot.
Douglas fir. Also from colder climates. Medium length, thin 2-inch deep green needles. Like the Monterey pine, they have a bushy shape. $4 per foot.
Prices
Averages for Southland in 1993
Cost of tree: $31.
Grower profit: $5-8
Surviving Predators
Trees sold by local growers cost a little more this year because of an epidemic of so-called “Grinch fungus” that has killed as many as 40% of the trees in choose-and-cut lots. The pitch canker fungus is carried by the tiny ips beetle, which bores into the trunk of the tree and spreads the disease.
The fungus breaks down the cells the tree uses to carry nutrients from the trunk to the top branches, causing the tree to drown in its own sap. Initial symptoms are a lightening of needle color, followed by an oozing of sap from holes bored by the beetle. Once symptoms are evident, the tree dies within a month.
Recycling Your Tree
Call the city of Los Angeles tree recycling hot line at (800) 587-3356. There are three Valley locations for tree recycling and last year more than 60,000 trees were mulched into wood chips used for ground cover.
Sources: California Christmas Tree Garowers, National Christmas Tree Assoc., City of Los Angeles Recycling and Waste Reduction Division; Researched by ISAAC GUZMAN / Los Angeles Times