Christmas trees

[Sandpit Farm]

I was wondering if anybody could give me advise on growing Christmas trees. I have a little awkward 0.5 acre patch of SDA land that is stony and currently just has a few sheep on. I was wondering if I could grow Christmas trees on it and if so, how many and what sort of growth rate/return could I expect?

i.e. if I buy saplings now and plant them pre Spring, how long before I can harvest my first ones?

 

[cotswoldcs]

Definitely demand for Christmas trees this time of year! I'd be interested in hearing about this. I grow probably 20-50 trees a year and sell/ use about 10 a year max. Not commercial in any way but fun and provides enough income to restock. Sell or give away to friends or people in the village and it's a cheery thing to do. I haven't time to sell hundreds so suits me just fine. I'm sure I could easily sell more if I wanted.

I find they take about 6 years to grow to 6ft. The key thing is to plant a few each year. I'm always surprised by how many larger ones I sell (7-8 foot) but they can take up to 10 years to get to that height. Don't plant the whole area in one go or you'll go from boom to bust. Maybe plant some willow, birch, pine etc for shelter and wildlife and gradually fell over time to plant more Christmas trees. I did a mix of Norway Spruce and Nordmann Fir but now only buy Nordmann trees. They used to be just over 40p each but prices have gone up and this year I can't find them under £1.35 each! The success rate is not great and a lot don't grow to be a perfect specimen but I don't spend much time pruning or shaping them. I also probably don't grow them close enough together which is probably key to getting a compact shape.

One thing to consider is planting a few in pots and selling as pot grown trees which command a premium price. Never tried this but like the idea.

I'd be interested to hear how it's done on a commercial scale if anyone can enlighten me.

 

[Longneck]

@spikeislander grows quite a few but he’s probably a bit too busy to reply in the next few weeks!!

 

[nonemouse]

@Brisel might have learnt a bit about Xmas trees since he moved north

 

[Brisel]

@Brisel might have learnt a bit about Xmas trees since he moved north

Thanks for the tag,

I certainly have a lot to learn about it, but a Google search will give some tips.

You get out what you put in. No effort = little return
Poor land won’t produce the best trees. You need shelter, sunlight and fairly fertile soil. Ours get muck ploughed in before planting up.
Establishment is 1-2 years then roughly 1 foot per year.
They will need annual pruning for a good shape, along with leader management to produce a good upper canopy.
Beware of silver fir aphids in bigger blocks. You can mitigate this with a diverse surrounding that provides aphid predators e.g. nectar flower mixtures.
Keep weeds at bay if you want an even tree shape.

 

[ARW]

How are the fellow Christmas tree retailers doing? We have a small shop and have sold 30% of our usual stock before the 1st of December! Pleased we ordered more in summer

 

[renewablejohn]

You could grow a couple of thousand trees on that land. If you learn how to do Bonsai you can make a good living out of christmas tree rental. There is also a market for dwarf table top trees which very few growers cater for.

 

[Puff]

In theory, you can grow 3300 trees to an acre at 4ft gap between the trees, so 0.5 acre 1650 but allow for access and so on.

Work on a 6 year return and plant some each year, so maybe plant 200-250 a year for your plot. Planting in stony soil is hard work! Weeding/cutting grass between the trees is important, as is trimming. You will have to market and sell when you're harvesting but unless you've got guaranteed sales, you won't want to cut them all down and not sell.

 

[bobk]

I've just bought an 8 foot Nordman for 20 quid plus vat , how long has that baby been in the ground

 

[treefarmer]

£20 is a bargain!

We're doing delivery this year, not having anyone in. Totally sold out this morning. Nothing major, only running at approx 150/yr but still, unprecedented demand this year (not always the way!!)

 

[bobk]

£20 is a bargain!

We're doing delivery this year, not having anyone in. Totally sold out this morning. Nothing major, only running at approx 150/yr but still, unprecedented demand this year (not always the way!!)

Suppose if you don't sell they grow again .

 

[bobk]

I've just bought an 8 foot Nordman for 20 quid plus vat , how long has that baby been in the ground

Actually it's 10 foot

 

[Brisel]

Actually it's 10 foot

You got a bargain. £125 for one of those here, retail.

 

[Greytop]

Does anyone know if the growing of Christmas trees is considered forestry or agriculture ( thinking is PP change of use required)

 

[Brisel]

We had no PP required to turn arable into Christmas trees. What is the current land use?

 

[Greytop]

It was forestry.. then cleared for a couple of years then Xmas trees for 8?ish ? now would like to turn back to field even if we had to plant same acreage elsewhere to compensate?

 

[Brisel]

Sorry, that's beyond what I know.

Planning applications affecting trees and woodland

Decisions made through the planning system can have significant impacts on trees and woodland - find out when to consult the Forestry Commission.

www.gov.uk

 

[Greytop]

Just discovered if you harvest before they get to licencing size, no issue

 

[Brisel]

What is the licensing size?

 

[Greytop]

8cm at waist height I believe