Types of Xmas Trees
First described in 1768, balsam fir is a medium-sized tree generally reaching 40-60 feet in height and 1-1 1/2 feet in diameter. It exhibits a relatively dense, dark-green, pyramidal crown with a slender spire-like tip.
Colorado blue spruce, or blue spruce, is an attractive tree often used for Christmas trees or as ornamentals, particularly in the eastern United States and Europe. It is the official state tree of both Colorado and Utah.
The Douglas-fir has been the major Christmas tree species used in the Pacific Northwest since the 1920's. During the following 40 years, nearly all trees were harvested from forest lands. Since the 1950's, the transformation from growing trees in the wild to culturing them on plantations has been dramatic. Today, few trees come from forest lands.
Red cedar, the most widely distributed conifer in the eastern United States grows a desirable wood at maturity and is a favorite tree in the landscape.
Beginning with the British colonists, eastern white pine (or white pine) has proven to be one of the most important and most desirable species of North America. It is a truly magnificent tree attaining a height of 80 feet or more at maturity with a diameter of two to three feet.
The Fraser fir is an endangered species. Threats include climate change, Balsam woolly adelgid and destruction of trees for Christmas trees and timber. Cultivation and uses. Although not important as a source of timber, Fraser fir is widely used as a Christmas tree.
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as spruce, pine, or fir or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas.
Scots pine is an important tree in forestry. The wood is used for pulp and sawn timber products. A seedling stand can be created by planting, sowing, or natural regeneration. Commercial plantation rotations vary between 50 and 120 years, with longer rotations in northeastern areas where growth is slower.
Virginia pine trees in the landscape are primarily used as barriers, naturalized forests and as an inexpensive slow growing forest. They are a scrubby plants with little ornamental appeal and become gnarled and bent in advanced years. Interestingly, the trees are grown in the south as a Christmas tree. The Virginia pine is a classic, evergreen conifer.
Grouse like to eat the buds and needles and find white fir a good roosting tree. The seeds are eaten by squirrels, rodents, chickadees, crossbills and Clark's nutcrackers. Deer browse on seedlings, buds and needles, and porcupines gnaw on the bark.
White spruce is a medium-sized conifer found in northeastern United States and throughout Canada. It is the state tree of South Dakota. White spruce has a cone-shaped crown, and when grown in the open develops a conical crown which extends nearly to the ground.