New Hampshire - Vermont Christmas Trees

Keeping your Christmas tree farm fresh

2011-12-19T06:46:00.000-05:00

Once you’ve selected your farm fresh Christmas tree from a New Hampshire or Vermont Christmas tree farm, there are a few things you can do to keep it fresh and fragrant through the holidays. When a Christmas tree is cut, more than half its weight is water, so much of keeping your tree happy involves making sure it’s able to take in the water it needs. Here are some tips from for keeping your Christmas tree farm fresh!

* Before you set your tree up, cut the bottom ½-inch from the trunk. Then place your Christmas tree in water.

* Make sure your tree stand is the right size for your tree – and that the reservoir holds plenty of water. Christmas tree stands should provide a quart of water per inch of stem diameter.

* Check the water level regularly to ensure the base of the tree is submerged.

* Keep your tree away from heat sources like fireplaces and radiators to prevent excessive drying.

* Use Christmas tree lights that produce only low heat to prevent drying. Lights should be inspected prior to use and replaced if they are worn. And they should always be turned off when you’re leaving the house or going to bed!

* When you’re ready to bid adieu to your Christmas tree after the holidays, check with your local transfer station on recycling options. Christmas trees should never be burned in a wood stove or fireplace, as they create creosote and can lead to a chimney fire.

For more tips on keeping your tree farm fresh, check out the National Christmas Tree Association’s tree care page.

From our farms to your home, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Exploring the Winter Wonderland of NH-VT Christmas tree farms

2011-12-12T15:15:00.000-05:00

With snowy fields, frosted mountains and Christmas decorations twinkling from the windows, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in New Hampshire and Vermont. And there’s still time to find the perfect Christmas tree at a New Hampshire or Vermont Christmas tree farm!

If you haven’t had the chance to visit your favorite Christmas tree farm yet, don’t fret – many of our farms are open right through Christmas Eve! Some even offer overnight deals in collaboration with area inns and hotels – so you can come for the day, or for the weekend!

With row upon row of beautifully shaped, carefully tended Christmas trees lining the fields, shops featuring handmade wreaths and unique holiday gifts and decorations, and plenty of festive activities, our Christmas tree farms offer up plenty of Christmas spirit.

To find the right Christmas tree farm in New Hampshire or Vermont for you and your family to visit this season, and to check hours of operation, we invite you to check out our farms map.

Merry Christmas to all!

Order your Christmas tree by December 10th!

2011-12-05T06:18:00.000-05:00

The holidays can be hectic, but our New Hampshire and Vermont Christmas tree growers can help simplify the season. It takes only a few minutes, from the comfort and convenience of your home or office, to order a farm fresh Christmas tree, which will arrive fragrant, beautiful, and full of holiday spirit in your home.

To ensure delivery in time for trimming, however, please place your order by December 10^th if you live outside the New England region! Those within New England should order by December 15^th to ensure pre-Christmas delivery!

Mail order Christmas trees are cut fresh and pack in wax-lined cartons to keep them fresh and fragrant en route to your holiday home. To select a New Hampshire or Vermont Christmas tree farm offering mail order trees (and wreaths, ornaments, decorations and more!), please visit our mail order page.

For all you last minute shoppers… If you do miss the ordering deadline – well, what a terrific excuse to visit one of our picturesque Christmas tree farms! Many farms remain open right through Christmas Eve. To find a New Hampshire or Vermont Christmas tree farm near your favorite place and learn more about what our Christmas tree growers offer, check out our farms map.

Merry Christmas!

May all your Christmases be white – and GREEN!

2011-11-28T15:21:00.000-05:00

We know it’s common to dream of a white Christmas, but our New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas tree growers offer the following eco tips to help you also make your holidays GREEN:

* If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already taken the first step toward an environmentally friendly holiday by selecting a real, farm fresh Christmas tree. If you’d like to read about the benefits of a real tree (and the dangerous pitfalls of artificial trees), we encourage you to check out this link from the National Christmas Tree Association.

* Using homemade ornaments is another fun and festive green holiday tradition. Cut paper snowflakes from colorful recycled paper, use craft paint and festive ribbon to decorate pinecones, string popcorn and cranberries and dried apples into garlands, tie sweet-smelling sticks of cinnamon with holiday ribbon to make pretty ornaments, save old Christmas cards to cut into shapes for tree ornaments or gift tags…. The possibilities are endless!

* If it’s time to replace your Christmas tree lights, look for LED strands. They use up to 90 percent less energy and last up to a decade!

* After the holidays, check with your local transfer station or a New Hampshire or Vermont Christmas tree farm to find out if there are Christmas tree recycling programs in your area. Recycled Christmas trees are put to use in a variety of ways, from helping to rebuild coastline and restoring sand dunes to improving fishing areas in New England and providing wildlife habitat. Visit the National Christmas Tree Association website to learn more about how recycled Christmas trees help the environment.

* Trees may also be composted or chipped for mulch. Evergreen trees should NOT be burned in the woodstove or fireplace, as they may contribute to creosote buildup and increase the risk of a chimney fire.

May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white… and green!

Decking the Halls in Style!

2011-11-21T20:28:00.000-05:00

It’s not ALL about Christmas trees for New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas tree growers. Beyond the farm fresh trees they tend to beautiful perfection, our tree farms also offer fresh, fragrant, handmade wreaths, along with kissing balls, garland, one-of-a-kind gifts from local artisans, and whimsical holiday ornaments.

That’s right… you can find everything you need to make the holidays merry and bright at a New Hampshire or Vermont Christmas tree farm!

Wreaths are typically made on site, using greens leftover from the process of growing and harvesting Christmas trees. Our tree farms sell wreaths ranging in decoration from a simple bow to adornments of pine cones, berries, and other natural and festive frills.

So, whether you’re shopping for your tree at a farm in New Hampshire or Vermont this season, or on one of our farms’ online shops, we invite you to think beyond the tree – and discover what else your favorite tree farm has to offer.

Happy Decorating!

Tips for choosing the perfect Christmas Tree

2011-11-15T06:53:00.000-05:00

The centerpiece of holiday decorations is, of course, the Christmas tree. To ensure that you find that perfect farm fresh tree this season, our New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas tree growers offer these tips:

* Determine how tall and how wide you want your Christmas tree to be before you visit your favorite New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas tree farm. It’s often hard to picture the room you’ll place your Christmas tree when you’re in a field surrounded by beautiful firs.

* Once you’re at the farm – either in the field or at the retail lot – make sure you measure your selected tree to ensure it is the size you want. (This may sound simple, but many a tree trimmer has had to lop off a chunk of tree top to make a Christmas tree fit in the living room!)

* New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas tree farmers grow a variety of tree types, from the most common Balsam and Fraser firs to the more unusual Korean and Canaan firs and other species. Different types of trees have different qualities, so check with the staff at the Christmas tree farm, or visit the National Christmas Tree Association website http://www.christmastree.org/types.cfm before you go, to find out which tree type is best for you.

* To check the freshness of a tree from a retail lot, run a branch through your enclosed hand – the needles should not come off easily. Bend the outer branches – they should be pliable. If they are brittle and snap easily, the tree is too dry.

* Involve the whole family in selecting your tree. Many of our farms offer festive activities, so choosing a Christmas tree can become a fun-filled family activity!

For more tips on selecting the Christmas tree that will be right for you, check out these guidelines from the National Christmas Tree Association.

Happy Holidays!

Trees for Troops – Delivering holiday cheer, one Christmas tree at a time

2011-11-08T14:57:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2011 marks the seventh year the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation has delivered farm fresh Christmas trees at home and abroad to active duty U.S. military personnel and their families through the Trees for Troops program.

Christmas tree growers throughout the country, including those in New Hampshire and Vermont, donate trees and garner customer support for Trees for Troops, allowing the program to deliver some 17,000 Christmas trees each year. New Hampshire and Vermont Christmas tree growers donate 425 Christmas trees to the program each year.

For Christmas tree farms and their customers, it’s a way to spread a little holiday cheer – one Christmas tree at a time – and to thank the men and women in our country’s armed services, who often spend the holidays away from home and family.

Last year, Trees for Troops delivered 17,224 trees to 59 military bases, including seven bases overseas… In 2011, Trees for Troops expects to deliver its 100,000^th tree!

You can help by visiting a participating farm – many of them have special events or sales dedicated to Trees for Troops.

Merry Christmas to all, whether you’re home for the holidays or far away.

Visit a Christmas Tree Farm and Get Festive!

2011-10-24T13:50:00.000-04:00

Visiting a Christmas tree farm to find the perfect tree is a holiday tradition for many folks. Several of our New Hampshire and Vermont Christmas tree farms offer craft fairs, caroling, hot cocoa, and other special touches to make the process of selecting a Christmas tree a festive and fun event.

We invite you to peruse our list of NH-VT Christmas Tree farms to find the one most to your liking… whether you prefer to wander through neat rows of snow-covered fir trees to find your Christmas tree or select a Christmas tree from our farms’ on-site retail lots.

Some farms also offer Christmas tree packages, where you’ll receive a discounted stay at a local inn or hotel when you also purchase a farm fresh tree from one of our growers. Whether you’re looking for a romantic getaway at a quaint New England inn or a family outing at a larger hotel, our holiday vacation packages are a wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit.

Happy Christmas tree hunting… and many happy returns!

Christmas Tree Trivia

2011-10-18T14:54:00.001-04:00

Have you ever wondered how long it takes to grow a Christmas tree? Or when the tradition of hauling an evergreen inside during the darkest days of winter started? As New Hampshire and Vermont Christmas tree farms prepare for the upcoming holiday season, we share some Christmas tree trivia...

The first record of a decorated Christmas tree comes from 500 years ago! Local merchants in Latvia decorated a tree in 1510 with artificial roses and danced around it before setting fire to it. (Today, of course, Christmas tree decorations are much more varied, and we leave the tree up to admire it and celebrate the season for much longer!)
During the 1600s, Christmas trees were popular in Germany and were often decorated with apples.
Americans caught onto the tree craze in the 1800s, and by the 1850s, Christmas trees were being sold commercially in the United States. Initially, these trees were cut from forests, but in 1901, the first Christmas tree farm was started in New Jersey. Today, some 30 million farm fresh Christmas trees are sold each year in the United States.
In 1853, President Franklin Pierce, who hailed from New Hampshire, brought the first White House Christmas tree to the Capital.
Today, Christmas trees are grown on farms in every state, translating to some 15,000 Christmas tree farms, 350,000 acres in production, 350 million trees currently growing, and more than 100,000 local jobs! (Artificial trees, incidentally, are generally produced in China and other Asian countries, using harmful heavy metals and petroleum products.)
For every farm fresh Christmas tree harvested during the holiday season, tree growers plant 1 to 3 seedlings the following spring.
It takes those seedlings several years to make it to Christmas tree height – an average of seven years.
The most common types of Christmas trees grown by New Hampshire and Vermont farmers are Balsam fir and Fraser fir.

Let the Holidays Begin ~ Mail Order Season is Now Open!

2011-10-13T06:46:00.000-04:00

Our New Hampshire and Vermont Christmas tree farms are now accepting online and phone orders! If you’re already thinking ahead to decking the halls, we invite you to order your tree, wreaths, and all you’ll need to help make the holidays merry and bright.

Our farm directory lists Christmas tree farms offering mail order sales.

Many of our Christmas tree growers sell mail order, farm fresh Christmas trees in various sizes and varieties. Shoppers may order any time and select a shipping date close to the holidays for hassle-free holiday shopping. We'll pack your farm grown tree in a special carton to preserve freshness and that wonderful fir tree fragrance.

Our farms also sell handmade wreaths, crafted from fresh evergreen clippings and decorated to your liking, as well as beautiful ornaments, helpful tree accessories, and other greenery.

Let the holidays begin!

A New Season ~ A New Look

2011-10-06T06:39:00.001-04:00

Here in the north country of New Hampshire and Vermont, the air is turning crisp, frost is setting in some evenings, and our New Hampshire and Vermont Christmas tree farmers are looking ahead to the hustle and bustle of the holiday season!

We’ve given our New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas Tree Association website a new look and updated features. So, it’s now easier than ever for you to browse our list of Christmas tree farms in New Hampshire and Vermont – whether on your home computer or your smart phone. You’ll find information about all of our member farms, the Christmas trees and other holiday items they offer, and the activities available at the farms during the holidays and beyond.

We hope you’ll use our site to plan your visit to one of our beautiful Christmas tree farms this season or to find a farm to place your online Christmas tree order.

Sharing the tricks of the tree growing trade

2011-10-04T15:12:00.000-04:00

Longtime Christmas tree grower Nigel Manley, of The Rocks Estate in Bethlehem, NH, attended his 15^th National Christmas Tree Association conference this summer, gleaning information on the latest tricks of the Christmas tree growing trade. Nigel, who is the NCTA director for the New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas Tree Association, was one of more than 400 Christmas tree growers from around the United States, Canada, Mexico, and England to attend the convention in Ohio.

Among the tidbits he picked up from this year’s convention – which he shares with his NH-Vermont associates – were ways to use social media and other new technology to boost marketing efforts, the latest news on the national Trees for Troops program, and information on growing the increasingly popular West Virginia Balsam (also known as the Canaan Fir).

“Only a few farmers from New Hampshire and Vermont are able to attend the national convention, so my role is to bring home the latest techniques for everything from pest control to marketing to share with our member farmers,” said Manley. “The information shared at the convention is important to our local Christmas tree growers. The impact for our local growers learning about these things is huge.”

Get Ready for the 2011 Season

2011-10-04T14:23:00.000-04:00

October means it is time for our tree farmers to get their farms ready for visitors and the wreaths decorated. Watch for Christmas Tree News on this blog.