December is always an eventful month, full of festivities, parties, and traditions. My family has always gotten a head start on the holiday season by setting up the family Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. My sisters and I would look forward to helping my dad haul up the artificial tree from the basement where it was stored for 11 months of the year, along with the boxes and boxes of Christmas ornaments. We seriously had enough ornaments for three or four trees. Each year we seemed to accumulate more and more – my mom could never part with the delightful, home-made ornaments my sisters and I made in grade school out of paper plates or glittery yarn, and my dad could never part with his beloved Peanuts or Star Trek ornaments. Secretly I couldn’t really blame him for the Start Trek ones – I mean who wouldn’t want a miniature electronic Starship Enterprise ornament that could announce the arrival of Dr. Spock at the push of a button?
One year though, after noticing that the tree had begun leaning under the weight of all the ornaments, we decided to not put so many up, be more tasteful, and go with a themed Christmas tree. Unfortunately, my dad decided to go with a frog theme and “tastefully” display his entire collection of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy ornaments. This really brought about a good dose of teenage embarrassment when any of my high school friends came over to visit during the entire month of December and were able to witness the “Frog Tree” in person. But without an artificial tree, we would have never been able to set up the Christmas tree so early.
And so, this leads to the age-old Christmas tree conundrum – do you get a long-lasting artificial tree, or a short-lived real tree? What if I said you could have both? If you get a potted Christmas tree, the tree is still alive and has its roots and you can plant it outside once the holidays are over. But if you’ve run out of room in your backyard, or you don’t want to be digging through snow and frozen ground, I’d suggest visiting a local Christmas tree farm. At a Christmas tree farm the trees are still alive and in the ground. You can meander with your family through a winter wonderland of row after row of perfectly shaped spruce, fir, or pine. You can drink in the amazing fragrance and enjoy the quiet of a wintery landscape. At some places you can make the whole day a jolly Christmas celebration with hayrides, hot chocolate, and the occasional Santa Claus. Once you pick out your “perfect” Christmas tree, they can cut it right there for you on the spot. In some cases, they’ll even let you cut it yourself the old-fashioned way. When you get your tree from a Christmas tree farm, you’re getting the freshest cut tree possible. Although it won’t last as long as an artificial tree, it’ll probably last a whole lot longer than the stockpile of Christmas trees on the side of the road.
When you go to pick out your Christmas tree, you should know what you’re looking for. There are actually a number of tree species that make beautiful Christmas trees. The most popular Christmas trees grown on Long Island are Fir (Douglas, Fraser, Canaan, or Concolor), Spruce (Blue or Norway Long Island . They both have soft green needles and very good needle retention. Douglas Fir is a little more fragrant, but both smell wonderfully. Canaan Fir (Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis) is actually a type of Balsam Fir, the quintessential Christmas tree. Concolor or White Fir (Abies concolor) has more of a citrus aroma and bluish-green, slightly curved needles.
Spruces also make great Christmas trees. Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) has striking light-blue colored foliage. Be careful though, because the ends of the needles are very sharp.
Photo: Colorado Blue Spruce, like this one growing at Bayard Cutting Arboretum, make great Christmas trees.
Photo (below): Norway Spruce is the species of tree that Rockefeller Center
Norway Spruce (Picea abies) can get very large, but you might want to wait until closer to Christmas to pick this one out, since needles don’t stay on the tree as well as other species after being cut. Although it has minimal fragrance, White Pine (Pinus strobus) provides more of an old-fashioned feel with its very long, soft needles.
Below are some local Long Island Christmas tree farms. Be sure to call ahead and they can help you pick out your perfect Christmas tree, whatever species it may be. (No Kermit the Frog ornaments included!)
Baiting Hollow Nursery – Calverton. 631-929-6439 or 929-4327
Brightwaters Farms and Nursery – Bay Shore . 631-665-5411
Dart’s Christmas Tree Farm – Southold. 631-765-4148
Elwood Farm – Huntington. 631-368-8626
Muller’s Christmas Tree Farm – Manorville. 631-878-1060
Shamrock Christmas Tree Farm – Mattituck. 631-298-4619
Tilden Lane Farm – Greenlawn. 631-261-6392
Tilden Lane Farm – Greenlawn. 631-261-6392
