In 2007, Oregon harvested nearly 7 million Christmas trees to be sold throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. States ranking behind Oregon include: North Carolina, 3 million; Michigan, 1.6 million; and Pennsylvania, 1.2 million.

Of the 7 million trees harvested in Oregon, 2.8 million of them are grown in Oregon’s Mt. Hood Territory (Clackamas County), making it the highest producing county in the nation. Behind Oregon, only one state (North Carolina) ranks higher in output than Clackamas County. (Source: Pacific NW Christmas Tree Association; NASS, USDA, August 2009)

Tis the Season - Visit the many "Choose-n-cut" classic Christmas trees in Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory

Growing | Harvesting | Did You Know? - Christmas Tree Facts

For more information on growing and harvesting Christmas trees, check out the National Christmas Tree Association and the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association.

Check out the movie clip of the life of a tree through the Pacific NW Christmas Trees Association’s Facts at a Glance.



Courtesy of Highland Farm of Oregon


Courtesy of Pacific NW Christmas Tree Association

Every year, holiday shoppers are faced with a choice to celebrate the season with a fresh-cut, real tree, or one that is artificial, plastic or aluminum. The best choice still remains to be the traditional and natural choice – a real Christmas tree!


 

 

 

 

 


Courtesy of Coyote Hills Tree Farm

The most popular Christmas trees grown in Oregon are: Douglas fir, Noble fir, Grand fir and Pine.
Christmas trees are grown on a farm as a crop in fields, commonly planted row-on-row.
It takes an average of 7-10 years to grow a Christmas tree to the most common height of 6-7 feet.

Courtesy of Highland Farm of Oregon

Up to 3 seedlings are planted for every Christmas tree harvested.
Environmentally, Christmas trees absorb carbon dioxide and other gases and emit oxygen, and each acre will produce the daily oxygen requirement for 18 people.
Growing Christmas trees often provides a habitat for wildlife.
Christmas tree farmers work year-round to make sure their crop is healthy and ready for harvest for the holidays.

Winter – planting seedlings
Spring – fertilizing
Summer – pruning and shearing
Fall – harvest

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Courtesy of Pacific NW Christmas Tree Association

Courtesy of Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory

Harvest is the busiest time of year for the farmers and involves a multi-step process:
Tagging – trees are tagged by size for inventory and sales.
Cutting – trees are cut manually with a power saw.
Hauling – trees are hauled from the fields to the staging area by farm tractor or even helicopter in large establishments
to speed up the process.
Baling – trees are run through a machine and wrapped in twine to protect their delicate branches during shipping.
Shipping – baled trees are loaded into trucks or refrigerated vans and shipped throughout the U.S.

For more information on growing and harvesting Christmas trees, check out the National Christmas Tree Association and the Pacific NW Christmas Tree Association.

Check out the movie clip of the life of a tree through the Pacific NW Christmas Trees Association’s Facts at a Glance.

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The first decorated Christmas tree was in Riga, Latvia in 1510.

Courtesy of Highland Farm of Oregon

A member of the National Christmas Tree Association has presented a tree to the White House every year since 1966.
Christmas trees were once used by Chimney Sweeps to clean the soot out of dirty chimneys.
A cut tree in your home can consume as much as a quart of water per day. Learn more about tree care.
Real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource.
An estimated 93% of Christmas trees are recycled in community recycling programs, a garden or backyard.
Learn more about tree recycling.
In 2005, 32.8 million real Christmas trees were purchased in the U.S. while only 9.3 million fake trees were purchased.

Read more on Real vs. Fake Trees through the National Christmas Tree Association.
Click here to meet “Ev’rett the Friendly Evergreen”.

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