The Trees That We Grow
Fraser Fir
The Fraser Fir tree is named after John Fraser, a Scots Botanist who explored the Appalachian Mountains, in Eastern North America, in the late 18th century, and is native to the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina.
The Fraser Fir Christmas Tree is a pyramid shaped tree, has strong branches that are slightly turned upwards and is a lovely compact, tree – making it ideal for the smaller house or where space is at a premium. The needles are flat and shiny and are a rich, dark green-blue colour on the upper side and silvery white on the underside. The foliage is dense and soft, making it ideal for all the family to handle and decorate.
This tree which would reach heights of 80feet if left to grow on, has excellent needle retention, and is renowned for usually giving off a beautiful Christmassy scent.
The Fraser Fir is a slow growing tree that will take 11 years to reach a 6 foot tree, from seed.. We find that sometimes the leaders , the branch where the fairy or star goes, can be slightly squint – adding a bit of character to the tree. As well as selling cut Fraser Fir Christmas Trees we sell pot grown Fraser Fir Christmas Trees, which make a beautiful alternative to the Norway Spruce pot grown tree, and will be much admired, and has the advantage over a cut tree of being able to be planted out in the garden after Christmas.
Nordman Fir
The Nordman Fir, which was first introduced into Britain in the mid 19th century, is a native of north east Turkey and Georgia, and is the No1 Christmas Tree in Europe.
This tree is named after a Finnish zoologist Alexander von Nordmann, a Professor of Botany at Odessa. He also has a butterfly named after him – Parnassius nordmanni.
The reason that the Nordman Fir is so popular is because of its beautiful symmetrical shape with strong, layered well spaced out branches that allow you to display Christmas decorations at their best. The attractive shiny dark green needles – with a silvery underside are not sharp and like the Fraser Fir make it an ideal tree for all members of the family to decorate at Christmas time. The Nordman Fir has also got very good needle retention.
The Nordman Fir Christmas Tree is not as narrow and compact as the Fraser Fir, so you will require more space to show it off to its full advantage. It is a slower growing tree than the Fraser Fir and takes approximately 12 years to reach 6 foot from seed.
Norway Spruce
The Norway Spruce; is a native of Europe, and was introduced to Britain in the 16th century, and extensively planted as a forest tree in the 1800’s.
The Norway Spruce is what most people think of as a traditional tree at Christmas time, but it is not a good tree to use inside as it is not as good at retaining its needles as the Fir trees once cut. The Norway Spruce is an ideal tree if you want to put a tree up outside ,or perhaps in a cold hallway, where it would need to be kept well watered and looked after appropriately. A pot grown Norway Spruce is different as it has been grown in a pot all its life and has a good root system and so long as it’s watered it will be happy inside, and then can be planted outside or repotted and brought back in the following year.
The tree’s conical shape with drooping lower branches and upward pointing high branches make it ideal for decorating. The custom of decorating Spruce trees at Christmas time was made popular by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria in the mid 19th century. The squarish shaped needles are mid to dark green in colour and are prickly to touch.
We sell pot grown Norway Spruce Christmas Trees, that are ideal for smaller houses, or as a second tree, or even as a table or office tree.
Every year Oslo, the capital of Norway, gives Edinburgh and London a very large Norway Spruce, which is placed in the centre of the respective cities – this is mainly as a thank you for the aid that was given to Norway during the Second World War. Newcastle, Sunderland and the Orkney Islands also are all presented with a Norway Spruce Christmas tree from various cities in Norway.