Christmas Trees

Christmas trees can be grown on relatively small parcels of land. This enterprise can fit in well with an existing farm or nursery operation. 

Marketing

Christmas trees can be marketed in a choose-and-cut operation, where the consumer selects the tree and then assumes the cost of harvest and transportation. This type of operation is most successful when it is accessible to consumers and located near a populated area. Farms offering other Pick Your Own crops and agritourism activities often find that Christmas trees can add another customer visit to the farm during the winter season. Growers can also sell trees in a retail market, which means transporting the trees to a rental space and providing labor for tending the lot. Selling trees wholesale generally involves contracting with a buyer for a specific type and number of trees. Direct wholesaling to local grocery stores, department stores and organizations is another possibility. Wholesale producers should promote their product by stressing the benefits of purchasing quality, locally grown, fresh trees over “imported” trees, as well as promoting their trees as more sustainable and environmentally friendly than artificial trees. Wholesale Christmas tree markets are well established, and smaller growers may have difficulty competing on price with large-scale wholesale producers.

Production

A number of different species of evergreen trees (conifers) can be grown as Christmas trees in Kentucky. The most popular and salable species are white pine (Pinus strobus), Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana), Scotch (Scots) pine (Pinus sylvestris), and Canaan fir (Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis). Needle cast problems have made Scotch pine a less desirable choice from a production standpoint, especially in areas where serious outbreaks occur. Other species include Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens), fraser fir (Abies fraseri), and white fir (Abies concolor), although the latter two species are difficult to grow in Kentucky. More than one species should be planted to reduce the potential for losses from diseases and insects.  

See the full crop profile and other resources below.