Christmas trees

Cultivation techniques

We wanted to keep our use of herbicides to a minimum so we knew weed control was going to be difficult. In particular we banned residual weedkillers that could have harmed the rare bryophytes in the nearby Site of Special Scientific Interest. As a result the smaller and slower growing trees battled to survive against the weeds and we lost nearly all of our corkbark fir, Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica. We were avoiding pesticides wherever we could, too, and in 1996 we had a serious problem with the potentially devastating green spruce aphid on the blue and Norway spruces. There is still no commercially available biological control for this pest so unfortunately we have no choice but to use a pesticide - but luckily were able to use one that only kills aphids.

Pruning the trees with shears may be labour intensive but it is almost essential nowadays for growers who want to produce the best quality trees so it was an important part of our trials. The technique and timing varies with each species. Spruces are sheared in the winter to a 60 degree angle and with a leading shoot no longer than 35 centimetres. In the summer before harvesting unwanted shoots are pinched out with fingertips, as shearing would cause unsightly browning of the cut needles. Pines are pruned in early June after they have stopped growing and while the buds at the base of each pine needle have a chance to grow to cover the pruning scar. The firs are the most difficult to prune because if the leading shoot is pruned or damaged the new shoot arising from a dormant bud is seldom straight. Fraser fir, however, has plenty of buds and can be sheared almost like a hedge in July.

Note: The above text first appeared as an article entitled Changing face of an evergreen icon in 'Kew', the magazine for members of the Friends of Kew. It was written by Andrew Jackson and Iain Parkinson. Reproduced with kind permission

See also

Christmas plants

Festive foods

More plants

Next: Selling trees grown at Wakehurst Place

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