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Members, and Past President of 
Illinois
Christmas
Tree
Association
Also members of the National Christmas Tree Association
and the Mid-America Christmas Tree Association.
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Which Type of Tree Should I Choose?
For Christmas 2007, we have 11 types of trees available: Scotch pine, Eastern White pine, Red pine, South-Western
White pine, White fir, Douglas fir, Canaan fir, Balsam fir,
Blue Spruce, White Spruce and Norway
Spruce. Each has a
distinctive look and their specific characteristics make one preferable to
the others in certain circumstances.
Here's a photo of a branch of each type of tree we offer:
 1.
Scotch Pine.
 This is the most popular variety of Christmas tree in the Midwest,
primarily because it grows so well in our climate.
It has strong branches, medium-length needles and a pleasant aroma.
It is known for its excellent needle retention, even indoors under
warm conditions. Scotch are
located in rows 58-67, 74-81 and 101-109 and are scattered in all other rows, since it
was often planted to replace any young trees of other varieties which didn’t
survive. A scotch pine has
two needles in each cluster, 1.5-3 inches in length and each is usually
somewhat twisted.
2. Eastern White Pine. 
This variety also grows well in this area, but a bit more slowly
than Scotch pine. It has long and soft, almost feathery needles but its
branches are flexible and limber, which makes them unsuitable for heavy
ornaments. It has relatively
little aroma, so it’s a good selection if anyone in the family has any
allergies—some say it’s hypo-allergenic.
We have only a very few of these available this year--in rows
40-42, and 82-88. A
White pine has 5 needles in each cluster.
 3.
South-Western White Pine This variety
also has soft, feathery needles, but they are much more blue than those of the
Eastern White pine. They also have more space between the branches, so
there is more room for ornaments. You'll find them in rows 62-67, 91-92,
and 114-117.
4. American Red Pine. 
It has
moderately sturdy branches and quite long and soft needles.
It also has a more open form and will be preferable to those who
want more room to hang their decorations.
Those
in rows 55-57 were planted in
1997 and are now 8-12 feet tall, so if you're
looking for a taller tree, this will be one option for you. Five to seven foot ones are in rows 76-83, 98-100, and
110-112. A Red pine has two needles in each cluster, 4-6 inches in
length. Each will be flexible
and will break when bent with the round side out.
 5.
White Fir.
This short-needled variety is also known as Concolor fir. As
the two names imply, the needles are blue-green on the top but nearly white
underneath. It also has a rather open form leaving room
to hang larger decorations but the branches are rather limber, so heavy
ornaments will not be appropriate. "Citrusey" is the way many
people describe its aroma. It does last well inside the house if
always kept watered, but without water it will not keep its needles as long as
the pine varieties do.
For this reason, it's not grown by wholesalers and shipped to other states--it
doesn't travel well. They grow rather slowly and some much more quickly
than others. This is the fourth year we've had any large enough to sell,
and we don't have very many, because they're so popular, people tend to take
them when they're still fairly small. They are located in rows 68-71
and a large number in rows 93-95.
 6.
Douglas
Fir  This
is a short-needled variety with soft dark-green or blue-green needles an inch to
an inch and a half long. They are spirally arranged around the twig and
could be generally described as flat, fragrant and friendly. The branches
are limber and tightly-spaced, so it won't hold large or heavy ornaments.
It has a very pleasant, sweet aroma, also with citrus overtones. Located
in rows 62-66, 72-74, and 96-97.
7. Canaan Fir This
is a short-needled variety with soft, short needles which are light-green on top
but silvery on the bottom. The branches are well spaceed so there is
adequate room for ornaments. They can be found in rows 109 and 118-129.
8. Balsam
fir This short-needled variety
is the most popular variety of Christmas tree in the New England area. It
has short, soft needles with a dark-green color. Probably it's best
characteristic is its aroma--it's a wonderful earthy fragrance which it will
normally retain for quite some time. You'll find it in rows 60-61, 85-91,
and 113-114.
9. Blue Spruce.
This short-needled variety has very stiff and sharp needles in
varying shades of blue. The branches are quite strong and it will hold
heavy ornaments better than any other variety. But they grow more slowly than
any other variety of tree we've tried. We have only a few left in rows 27-30.
10. White Spruce.
This
hardy variety is very similar to the blue spruce, but a dark
green in color.
The needles are
stiff and sharp and the branches are usually quite strong. And most trees
of this variety put out quite a few branches that are often rather close
together, so while they will easily hold heavy ornaments, there usually isn't
much room to hang them. They tend to have a very nicely tapered
shape and a pleasant
aroma. They're located in rows 52-54.
11.
Norway Spruce. 
This
variety has short, fairly soft needles and a light green color. It has
been the most popular tree in Northern Europe for decades, in part because it
has a wonderful aroma. You'll only find it for sale at choose and cut
farms such as ours, not at lots in town that only offer cut trees, That's
because, while it does last well inside the house if
always kept watered, without water it will not keep its needles as long as
the pine and fir varieties do.
For this reason, it's not grown by wholesalers and shipped to other states--it
doesn't travel well. Located in rows 58-59.
Some
of our customers are looking forward to trying different varieties of trees in
the future and have asked us to list what else we have planted. The
first Fraser fir we planted are now about 4 feet tall, so it will be a couple
more years before any of them mature. As the nursery in Oregon warned me,
very few of the Noble fir we tried have been able to survive our hot summers,
but we still hope those which remain alive will make it to maturity in a few
more years. We also have Englemann spruce and Nordmann fir doing well thus
far but I
fear we will be into the next decade before they are mature. Also, two
years ago we planted some Korean fir, a Fraser/Balsam cross and
Sheet Harbor Bracted Balsam. So we all have
something to look forward to....
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