Why a real tree?

Why Should You Have a Real Christmas Tree This Year?

About thirty-five million real Christmas Trees are sold in the United States every year. A real Christmas Tree is a Christmas tradition and contributes to making Christmas a real and meaningful experience for many families. Some people use artificial trees, thinking they are saving our forests. The truth is, however, that almost all Christmas Trees are grown on Christmas Tree farms, not in the forest. Thanks to the annual demand for Christmas trees, thousands of acres of otherwise unfarmed land are being farmed with Christmas Trees. Indeed, Christmas Tree farms are most often located on land which could not be used to grow other farm products (these farms are on barren slopes or under power lines). In addition, for each tree harvested, about ten others are being grown on farms to prepare for the next ten harvest seasons.

Real Christmas Trees and the Environment

Real Christmas trees have positive effects on the environment:

they produce oxygen and rid the air of carbon dioxide, thereby reducing the earth-warming greenhouse effect;
they improve soil stability;
they provide an aesthetically pleasing improvement to the land and bring value to portions of land which could not be used to grow other crops;
they serve as wildlife habitat;
they are naturally biodegradable and many towns collect trees after Christmas and convert them to mulch. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree produces 3 tons of mulch annually;
they are a renewable resource.

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Fake Christmas Trees and the Environment

Fake Christmas Trees harm the environment:

they are manufactured from PVC, plastic and metal - i.e. environmentally damaging and non-renewable resources;
upon their disposal, artificial Christmas trees pollute our landfill sites for centuries to come as they are not biodegradable (i.e. cannot be broken down naturally).
Considering that the average life span of an artificial tree is only six years, one can imagine the enormous damage to the environment done by artificial Christmas trees.

Real Christmas Trees and Your Local Economy

Real Christmas trees are grown at home and have a positive effect on local employment and the economy. Your local Christmas Tree farmer buys his supplies locally and hires seasonal help locally.

Real Christmas Trees and Fire Dangers

Many people wrongly believe that a Christmas tree can be the cause of a fire. This is not true. A Christmas tree that is well cared for will remain fresh and will not catch fire unless a strong flame supported by inflammable material is placed under the tree.

In fact, there have been reports of house fires where the house burned completely, but the real Christmas tree in the house did not even catch fire. Beware of fake trees because they do catch fire and, when they do, they give off dangerous toxic fumes.

A real Christmas Tree that is watered and kept fresh won't shed needles. If you keep your real Christmas Tree watered, you will find that it will last two months or more in your home and it will shed very few needles.

Finally, many are of the opinion that Christmas trees just fill up landfill sites after Christmas. This simply is not true. Most cities collect discarded natural Christmas trees and chip them for use as mulching materials. Real Christmas trees are completely biodegradable and will, on their own, break down and return their stored nutrients to the soil from which they came.

Enjoy the family of tradition of choosing and cutting your own real Christmas tree this year!