16 of 31

Yes

Write now Article Tools

Certainly live Christmas trees should be used since tree farmers invest in the small trees, the energy to plant, trim through the years and probably pay people to help them. It takes several years for a tree to grow to a good Christmas tree size and takes lots of trimming to give it a good shape and a long handle to fit in your Christmas tree stand to absorb water which makes it last longer. There is nothing like the smell of a fresh tree to make you in the Christmas mood. Because of the layout of my living room I have resorted to an artificial tree which can sit in front of the heater. I miss the smell of a live tree but, in my case as long as I live where I do, it is safer to have the artificial tree which is not affected by the heat from the wall heater. A real tree would dry out and perhaps catch fire.

There is lots of work involved in making a tree ready to sell on a tree lot or at the tree farm itself. Part of the fun of Christmas is going to the tree lot or to the tree farm and choosing the tree that is just right for this year. The trees have been trimmed repeatedly through the years to make them the shape that is perfect for each home. They are cut at just the right time so you can buy one and get it home to sit in a bucket of water to keep it fresh until time to bring it in and decorate.

Years ago, when my children were small and we lived in the country where we could get a permit from the Forest Service and go out an cut a natural tree, we learned that the trees that make good Christmas trees do not grow up if left and make good trees in the forest. A Christmas tree needs to grow slowly to not have lots of space between layers of branches. A tree that is growing to make harvistable timber grows faster but for a longer time to become a tall evergreen. Christmas style trees will never get to that stage since they grow slow and do not get really big. It was always fun in those days to wander through the US Forest Service land and choose the tree that seemed just right-it was grown naturally for shape, not pruned to make it look like a pyramidal arborvitae and had the scent of the natural forest. In the last years before moving to where I live now, I still wanted a natural tree that smelled good so bought from a tree lot and a few times from a tree farm where I chose the tree and cut it down.

These trees are raised for selling-it is a shame that some get wasted-the ugly ones-but an investment has been made by the tree farm to produce that tree and make it shaped as people want. It really is no different from farms raising animals for meat and purchasing them at the supermarket packaged as burger or steaks. I have a hard time eating wild elk or venison but, in New Zealand a couple years ago, I fell in love with venison since they raise deer on farms for their meat and it is a common thing to eat. They are not wild deer but deer that have been raised domestically on farms for that purpose. It is no different for trees that are raised on tree farms. We get so busy with thinking we are saving the environment by not eating meat or not cutting a tree but, when they are raised on farms for that purpose, it is no different than buying a steak at the supermarket!

Learn more about this author, Older But Wiser.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Should live trees be cut down for Christmas trees??
We want to hear your view. Write now!