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Tuesday, December 23, 2008 9:49 PM CST
Christmas trees are more than just decoration



With the 25th of December quickly approaching, I thought I would give some facts on Christmas tree industry.

The Christmas tree has been sold commercially in the United States since about 1850. The most popular are the Scotch pine, Douglas fir, Noble fir, Fraser fir, Virginia pine, balsam fir, and white pine.

In the United States, there are approximately half a billon real Christmas trees grown on farms in all 50 states. There are more than 21,000 Christmas tree growers in the United States and right here in Illinois there are over 500 growers. The Christmas tree industry employs 100,000 people.

Over 2,000 trees are usually planted per acre. On an average 1,000 — 1,500 of these trees will survive. In the North, maybe 750 trees will remain. Almost all trees require shearing to attain the Christmas tree shape. At six to seven feet, trees are ready for harvest. It takes six to ten years for a tree to mature.

While growing Christmas trees, they provide habit for wildlife and an acre of these trees provides enough of the daily oxygen requirements for 18 people. Also, when recycled, these trees have been used to make sand and soil erosion barriers and placed in ponds for fish shelter.

For more information on Christmas trees, please visit the National Christmas Tree Association’s website at www.christmastree.org.

Mary Cox is manager of the Coles County Farm Bureau


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