PLANT OF THE MONTH
December, 2009
Plant of the Month Feature
by Margo Hansen
Roots Board Member
Abies fraseri
Fraser Fir
In August when my father would say, ”Jump in the wagon; we are going to the field,” it meant we would be loading hay bales or fixing the fence. So, when he said, “Jump in the wagon” in December, we looked at each other and thought he must have been out in the cold too long. But we did as he said, and off all five of us went hanging on for dear life (so we thought) as the tractor pulled the old hayrack over the frozen, bumpy ground. We were headed for “the back 40.” That meant the back forty acres that was the roughest and hilliest part of the farm. It was mainly used for pasture for the dairy cows. In the fence line grew scrubby trees like Box Elder,
Silver Maple, and brown tinged evergreens.
We stopped in front of an old, but well shaped Cedar tree. That Cedar tree that had gone unnoticed for fifteen plus years would turn out to be our Christmas tree. It did not take long for all six of us to cut the tree, load it on the wagon, and head for home. I remember thinking at the time the tree was kind of an ugly color and prickly. Once it was up and decorated with our homemade ornaments, I thought it was the most beautiful tree ever. That was 1965, and I was only ten.
Today the most beautiful Christmas tree in my mind is the Fraser Fir. It has been voted the number one Fresh Christmas Tree by the National Christmas Tree Association. It has earned this title due to the following combination of outstanding characteristics: pyramidal tree form; dark blue green needle color; fragrance; needle retention; and ease of shipping.
Fraser Fir or Abies fraseri is a native Southern Fir similar to Balsam Fir. The tree grows at elevations above 5,000 feet. It is named after a Scottish botanist, John Fraser, who in the late 1700’s
explored the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
The tree is uniform and pyramidal in shape with strong branches that turn upwards making it a compact tree great for hanging holiday
lights and decorations.
In nature the tree will grow to eighty feet. For the Christmas tree
industry, Fraser Fir trees are grown from seed and can take seven to
ten years to produce a six to seven foot tree for the market. Fraser Firs do not grow well in the Midwest due to extreme summer heat and extreme winter cold temperatures. Scotch Pine and White Pine are the varieties grown locally for the “Cut your own Christmas tree” farms.
The National Christmas Tree Association reports that “about 23 percent of the consumers will purchase their trees from a ‘Christmas
tree farm’ while about 62 percent will buy trees from a retail lot. About 300,00 consumers will purchase their real tree over the Internet or by mail order . . . .” The winter wagon ride makes for better memories!
About the author: Margo Hansen is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree
in Horticulture. She has a lawn and garden call-in radio show on KROS every Saturday morning. She is an active member of Clinton
Trees Forever, Lyons Farmers Market, and is on the Roots Board
of the Bickelhaupt Arboretum. Margo is Seasonal Manager at Paul’s
Discount.