State Christmas Tree Web Site Finds Farms Fast for Short Holiday Season

NASHVILLE - The official Christmas season is short this year—only four weeks from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas Day. There’s no time to waste to catch the holiday spirit: go straight to www.picktnproducts.org for all sorts of Christmas tree history, educational fun and games-- and of course, a directory of Christmas tree farms across Tennessee.

 

Along with the statewide tree farm listing, the Pick Tennessee Products Web site features tips on proper selection and care of natural trees whether cut or balled and burlapped for post-holiday planting. The Web page also offers a link to the national Christmas tree farm site.

 

Among the things visitors will find at the national natural tree site is information about where the White House tree is coming from this year.

 

There are lesson plans on conifers, how trees grow, tree recycling, graphs and mapping, traditions and even writing poetry. Visitors can also enjoy games and activities just for fun, but all are related to trees.

 

Other links accessible through the national Christmas tree site include the popular “How Stuff Works” and other teacher and student resources.

 

Tennessee Christmas tree farms are spread across the state. The types of trees grown depend on the geography and climate of the region, from mountainous trees like firs and spruces in Upper East Tennessee to warm-weather wetland trees like pines and Leyland Cypress in West Tennessee. Tennessee Christmas tree farms range from large wholesale businesses with helicopter harvesting to small family “choose and cut” farms. Tree shoppers may wander through groves of uncut trees and cut their own, have trees cut for them, select a freshly cut tree on site at the farm or take home a live balled and burlapped tree.

 

There are some pretty practical reasons to choose straight-off-the-farm local Christmas trees: cost and quality. Buying direct from the grower eliminates transportation and middleman costs. Cutting out transportation time also means the customer is assured the freshest tree possible. Trees coming from out of the state must be cut well before Thanksgiving—sometimes as early as October. The freshness of a Tennessee Christmas tree guarantees not only maximum fragrance and appearance but safety, as well.

 

Every tree farm is different, but they all want to provide customers with more than just a quality, homegrown tree. Tree farmers want to provide visitors with a great traditional holiday experience that will bring them back year after year.

 

For information about other locally grown and processed products, including artisan and specialty products for the holidays, visit www.picktnproducts.org.