The Christmas trees that show up on retail lots are actually grown on Christmas tree farms and plantations all around the country. It takes years of effort to produce a tree that is of high enough quality to become a Christmas tree. Christmas trees begin in a nursery, where seeds are taken from the cones of existing trees, planted & covered with straw. After several years, the seedlings can be moved to areas called line out beds. These line out beds let the seedlings continue to grow without any other vegetation competing for sunlight or water. They stay in the line out bed for about two years or until they are sturdy enough to be moved to the field.
The trees will spend approximately seven to eight years in the field. In this time, the farmer will work at shaping the trees. The trees will undergo a process known as shearing after they have reached a height of three feet. What is shearing, well the leader, or top of the tree is cut back to slow the upward growth of the tree. By doing so, the tree will branch out quicker. As it branches out, the farmer will trim and shape the tree.
It can take up to twelve years of growth before a seven to ten feet tall Fraser Fir will be ready for harvesting.
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