   Real Christmas Trees - December 19, 2012 Jeff Schalau, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County People have glorified trees in deference to winter holidays for millennia. These decorated trees can be traced back to the ancient Romans who during their winter festival decorated trees with shiny metal sun symbols, stars, and faces of the god Janus during Saturnalia, a winter festival in honor of Saturnus, the god of agriculture. Originally, Saturnalia was celebrated to mark the winter solstice. It was an occasion for celebration, visits to friends, and the presentation of gifts, particularly wax candles, perhaps to signify the returning light after the solstice. Home interiors were decorated with greenery – swathes, garlands, and wreathes. The indoor Christmas tree is a German tradition and they were first sold in Alsace in 1531. Alsace was at that time a part of Germany. Today it is part of France. The trees were sold at local markets and set up in homes undecorated. Sixteenth century folklore credited Martin Luther as being the first to decorate an indoor tree. After a walk through a forest of evergreens with shining stars overhead, Luther tried to describe the experience to his family and showed them by bringing a tree into their home and decorating it with candles. Of course, this is disputed by some historians which maintain that the first evidence of a lighted tree appeared more than a century after Martin Luther's death in 1546. The oldest record of a decorated Christmas tree came from a 1605 diary found in Strasburg, France (Germany in 1605). The tree was decorated with paper roses, apples and candies. In Austria & Germany during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the tops of evergreens were cut and hung upside down in a living room corner. They were decorated with apples, nuts and strips of red paper. The custom of the Christmas tree was introduced in the United States during the War of Independence by Hessian troops. An early account tells of a Christmas tree set up by American soldiers at Fort Dearborn, Illinois, the site of Chicago, in 1804. Most other early accounts in the United States were among the German settlers in eastern Pennsylvania. By 1850, the Christmas tree had become fashionable in the eastern states. Until this time, it had been considered a quaint foreign custom. Mark Carr brought trees from the Catskills to the streets of New York in 1851, and opened the first retail Christmas tree lot in the United States. Today, while some trees are still harvested from the wild, 98% of commercially sold Christmas trees are farmed in plantations. The average Christmas tree farm starts with about 2,000 trees per acre. On an average 1,000-1,500 of these trees will survive. Almost all trees are periodically sheared to shape and make them denser. At six to seven feet, trees are ready for harvest. It takes six to ten years before a mature Christmas tree can be harvested. In the U.S., there are close to 15,000 Christmas tree growers. The best-selling trees are Scotch pine, Douglas fir, Noble fir, Fraser fir, Virginia pine, Balsam fir and white pine. According to a 2011 survey by the National Christmas Tree Association, U.S. consumers bought about 30.8 million real trees and spent $1.07 billion, versus roughly $670 million spent on 9.5 million artificial trees. Real Christmas trees are commonly recycled and used as mulch and underwater fish structures. Some Yavapai County municipalities also have Christmas tree recycling programs. Some people choose to have a living Christmas tree (one with roots intact that can be planted after the holidays). This is a good choice only if you have a place that it can be planted and properly cared for. It is critical to know the tree species, it’s water requirements, suitability for your location, and mature size before planting. During the holidays, keep it well watered and minimize the time it is kept indoors. To get the most from your live tree, read my December 10, 2003 column on-line: Christmas Tree Care and Safety. Follow the Backyard Gardener on Twitter – use the link on the BYG website. If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener help line in the Camp Verde office at 928-554-8999 Ext. 3 or e-mail us at cottonwoodmg@yahoo.com and be sure to include your name, address and phone number. Find past Backyard Gardener columns or provide feedback at the Backyard Gardener web site: http://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/.  |