Overview

In the United States, Christmas trees are an important part of Christian Christmas celebrations and of the national winter holiday.

Christmas trees have been commercially sold in the United States since about 1850, when most were cut from forests. Midway through the last century, tree plantations began to appear, and now most Christmas trees are grown on or selected and harvested by consumers on plantations. Of the live Christmas trees purchased in the United States in 2007, 84 percent were pre-cut and 16 percent were harvested at cut-your-own, or U-cut, enterprises.
 
The best-selling species are Scotch (Scots) pine, Douglas fir, noble fir, Fraser fir, Virginia pine, balsam fir and white pine. While Christmas trees are grown for retail sale in all U.S states (including Hawaii), the top six tree-producing states in 2007 were as follows: Oregon (8.0 million), North Carolina (3.5 million), Michigan (3.0 million), Pennsylvania (2.3 million), Washington (2.3 million) and Wisconsin (2.0 million). In 2007, the retail market value of 31.3 million Christmas trees was $1.3 billion.  March 2009 ... Christmas Trees


National, Regional and State Christmas Tree Associations

National Christmas Tree Association
New Hampshire and Vermont
Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington)
Southern (Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi)
California
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Nebraska
New Hampshire Christmas Tree Promotion Board
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Texas
Wisconsin

Marketing

• Christmas Tree Marketing, Alternative Agricultural Enterprises, University of Minnesota, in cooperation with the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension Service, 1992.
• Christmas Trees magazine, Kansas - This print publication has provided relevant information to the live Christmas tree industry for over 35 years. The site contains facts about the real tree industry and information for children including the Christmas Tree Education Kit that explains life on a real Christmas Tree Farm. Other resources include stand management information for wholesale and retail Christmas tree growers.
• National Christmas Tree Association, Missouri - This association represents the growers of trees and greens and of related product producers who support the holiday season.
• Selection and Care of Christmas Trees, Virginia Tech University Cooperative Extension, 1996 - The Christmas tree industry participates in agricultural marketing programs.
• Selling Christmas Trees to Mexico, GAIN Report, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), USDA, 2004 - The Mexican market for U.S. Christmas trees was over $9 million in 2003. The market for imported Christmas trees is growing and the United States enjoys a 95 percent import market share.
• Yankee Woodlot: Christmas Tree Marketing, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, 1998 - Maximize return from Christmas tree culture by developing a marketing plan to help achieve business goals.

Production

• Christmas Tree Budgets, Ohio State University - This site offers sample budgets for pine and single leaf conifer trees.
• Christmas Tree Firm Network - A directory of Christmas tree farms across the United States.
• Christmas Tree Notes Catalog, North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension - Various publications covering shaping, retail merchandising, and pests for Christmas tree operations.
• Christmas Tree publications, Virginia Cooperative Extension, 1997 - Ten publications available online including Economics of Producing an Acre of White Pine Christmas Trees.
• Christmas Trees and More, University of Illinois Extension.
• Christmas Trees Fact Sheets, Rutgers University Extension, New Jersey, 2006 - Five fact sheets including Sources of Christmas Tree Growing Stock.
• Crop/Pest Profile for Christmas Trees in Florida, 2008.
• Crop Profile for Christmas Trees in North Carolina (Mountains), 2009.
• Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS), Foreign Ag Service (FAS), USDA, 2009.
• Integrated Pest Management in Christmas Tree Production, Michigan State University, 1996 - Available in Spanish.
• Ohio Christmas Tree Producers Manual - Thinking of growing Christmas trees?, Ohio State University, 1991 - This online manual provides the necessary guidelines.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Agroforestry Overview, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), NCAT, 2002 - Covers how operations can benefit from adding forestry operations to their existing production cycles.
• Creating a Christmas Tree Tradition, Forest Health magazine, 2001 - The owners of Snowy Peaks Tree Farm near Sacramento describe their operation and the work that goes into Christmas tree farming.
• Mountain Star Farms, Woodsville, New Hampshire - This farm boasts an online shop for ordering ease.
• Tammen Treeberry Farm, Ag Marketing Resource Center, 2002 - This case study was written about a 50-acre Illinois farm that offers choose-and-cut Christmas trees and pick-your-own blueberries.

 
Links checked February 2010.