Terry Hall watched anxiously as the sawdust flew. Fran Herrick sawed a couple inches off a 5-foot Douglas fir and slid it into a plastic mesh for Hall to put in the back of her red Mustang.
“I just love the smell; I just love them,” Hall, of Columbus, said, standing in the garden center at Lowe”s on Military Road in Columbus. “Even though I”m allergic to cedar, I still get (real trees).”
“It does make it special with the real one,” agreed Herrick, live nursery specialist at Lowe”s.
In anticipation of Christmas Day, families across the country will continue the evergreen tradition, decorating with live trees.
And area residents have no shortage of places to find the centerpiece of their holiday decor.
Lowe”s has nearly a thousand Fraser and Douglas fir trees to choose from, from 5 to 9 feet tall and ranging from $24.98 to $59.97.
At Marvin”s building and home supply store on Highway 50, 375 trees — spruce, Douglas fir and Fraser fir — wait to be chosen, from 3 to 9 feet tall and ranging in price from $14.99 to $49.99.
“These are all Yankee trees. They send these in from Minnesota, Wisconsin,” gate man James Goolsby said, passing through the garden area. “Sometimes they come in with ice still on the top of the trees.” (Goolsby also doubles as Santa Claus to greet Christmas tree shoppers.)
The first large influx of Christmas tree purchases has already hit. The weekend after Thanksgiving traditionally kick-starts the tree-buying season.
“Usually, that weekend, we”ll sell 150 trees,” said Marvin”s store manager Brad Minton. “The first weekend of December, that”s the biggest week.” The store usually sells about half its inventory then.
Area vendors expect to stay busy with tree sales for the next two weeks.
“Some people wait ”til the last minute. Sometimes we sell them early. It just depends,” noted James Guyton, assistant manager at Walmart. Walmart in Columbus had 50 trees in stock on Friday, from 5 to 8 feet tall, for $35 each.
“You always have some stragglers,” said Herrick. “But we don”t mind.”
Vendors with trees left over from the holidays will donate them to area ponds for fish to bed.
Douglas firs are a customer favorite.
“They”ve really become the (Christmas) tree of choice,” said Alan Smith of Smith”s Landscaping on 18th Avenue North.
The nursery has 200 trees from 3 to 12 feet, ranging from $30 to $250.
“It has lots of branches, and they”re soft and they hold ornaments very well,” Smith said, also noting the Fraser firs have strong scents and a pretty blue-green color.
“This seems to be what they”re good for,” he continued. “Because they don”t split well, they”re not good for lumber.”
Smith”s trees also are “Yankee trees,” hailing from North Carolina. Lowe”s gets its trees from R and R Farms in Illinois.
Locally, Swedenburg”s Christmas Tree Farm, on South Lehmberg Road in Columbus, grows Virginia pine, Carolina Sapphire and Leyland cypress.
“A lot of varieties will not grow in the hot, humid South,” noted Carolyn Swedenburg.
At the Swedenburg farm, families are treated to a wagon ride through the farm, where they can pick and cut their own tree or get help cutting the tree.
“If you buy one from the store, you miss the joy of picking and cutting your own tree,” Swedenburg said.
Trees at the farm range from 5 to 10 feet at a cost of $5-$6 a foot.
Whether you choose to buy live trees from the store or a choose-and-cut farm, vendors offer the same advice: Make a fresh cut, about an inch from the bottom before placing the tree for decoration. And always keep the tree well watered.
“Don”t ever let it run out of water,” Swedenburg advised.
“The sap dries in the bottom and keeps the tree from taking up water,” Smith explained, noting it only takes about an hour for the sap to seal the bottom of the tree.
“If they”re not watered, they get dry and they are extremely flammable,” Minton said. “Also, keep them away from any heat source.
Hall also recommended turning any decorative lights adorning the tree off when left unattended.
Caring for a fresh-cut Christmas tree
· Display trees in water in a traditional reservoir-type stand, providing 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter.
· Make a fresh cut to remove about a one-half inch thick disk of wood from the base of the trunk before putting the tree in the stand.
· Once home, place the tree in water as soon as possible.
· To display the trees indoors, use a stand with an adequate water holding capacity for the tree. Devices are available that help maintain a constant water level in the stand.
· Keep displayed trees away from sources of heat.
· Check the stand daily to make sure that the level of water does not go below the base of the tree.
· Do not overload electrical circuits.
· Always turn off the tree lights when leaving the house or when going to bed.
· If the tree is dry, remove it from the house.
Source: National Christmas Tree Association, www.christmastree.org
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