Tri-State Neighbor: South Dakota Farm Newspaper

There is one Christmas tradition that can be found in most households across America - the Christmas tree.

It doesn't matter the family's religion, ethnic heritage or where they live in the United States, in most households, sometime before Dec. 25, a tree is either pulled out of a box, purchased live or cut down to decorate the home for Christmas.

In fact, in 2007, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans spent $2.5 billion on the more than 31.3 million live and 17.4 million artificial Christmas trees sold in the United States.

When it comes to the environment, John Ball, professor of forestry at South Dakota State University, encourages people to purchase live trees.

“Christmas tree plantations typically plant and harvest trees within 11 years. Then they plant to replace the trees. While they are growing, Christmas trees provide wildlife habitat and help hold the soil in-check,” he said. “Not a lot of pesticides are used when growing Christmas trees, and there isn't any injury to the land. They are a very soft crop to plant.”

He adds that once the lights and ornaments are taken off a live Christmas tree, it is still useful.

“A lot of people think artificial trees are permanent, when actually their lifespan is less than seven years. The only thing you can do with a plastic tree is put it in the landfill,” Ball said. “To me the big advantage of having a natural tree is that it has many uses after Christmas.”

From a backyard bird feeder or roost, to garden mulch and an artificial fish reef, Ball says many communities re-use live trees in many unique and eco-friendly ways.

Caring for your investment

According to Ball, there are three characteristics that most tree shoppers look for in a Christmas tree - fragrance, needle retention and branch strength. Although there are several varieties of trees to choose from, he says the varieties that most exhibit these three qualities are the Scotch Pine and Fraeser Fir.

“Fraeser Fir is the most popular. It has a wonderful fragrance and the branches are nice and stiff with incredibly good needle retention. You can put this tree up on Thanksgiving and take it down after Easter. They are more expensive, but you only buy one a year,” Ball said.

Ball adds that in his house, visitors will only find a Blue Spruce. Even though this variety doesn't have good needle retention, it does have one quality that Ball appreciates.

“It's cat-proof,” he said. “That's why we use a Blue Spruce at our house. I haven't put it up yet. I'll wait until mid-December because it has poor needle retention.”

With the average cost of a tree ranging anywhere from $20 to $100 and more, it is important that this investment remains green with most of its needles come Christmas Day. Ball says that caring for a Christmas tree begins with selection.

First off, if the buyer isn't cutting their own tree, they should make sure the tree is fresh. Ball says that tree buyers can check for freshness by shaking the tree. If the tree is fresh, only a few needles from the tree's interior should fall off. Then, have the tree re-cut right before it's put into a tree stand. Last, and perhaps most important, Ball says don't let the tree get thirsty.

“Water as much as you can. Check the water in the stand and never let it go dry. The bigger the stand the better because trees can drink up to a gallon of water,” Ball said.

To better understand how much water a tree needs, Ball says a good rule of thumb to follow is 1 quart of water for every inch of tree trunk. He adds that water - pure and simple - is all a tree needs.

“People ask, ‘Should I add an Aspirin?' I say, ‘only if it has a headache,'” Ball said. “Others ask, ‘Should I add vodka?' I say, ‘it will probably make your dog or cat happy.' Really, a tree doesn't need anything but water - nothing but water prolongs the tree's life.'”

Once the holidays are over and it's time to take down the Christmas tree, there is one more step that Ball says people can take to make next year's tree last longer - clean the Christmas tree stand prior to putting it away.

“Get an early start on 2009, take a capful of bleach and clean the stand. This helps prevent any bacteria that is left behind from this year's tree from clogging next year's tree's pores,” Ball said.

To learn more about the Christmas tree industry, visit www.christmastree.org or to learn about the Christmas tree tradition, visit www.christmas-tree.com.