West Tennessee: Christmas Tree Crop
SELMER, Tenn.—The wintry weather and bitter cold have many already thinking about Christmas, and when to by the traditional family tree. Charlie Duncan will open his Christmas tree farm this Saturday, just more than a month before Christmas. “It’s a great business despite a little work in the Summer to get the trees just right,” said Charlie Duncan of Duncan Christmas Tree Farm. Some of his trees have already been spoken for. First Lady Crissy Haslam has chosen this “Leyland Cypress” among other trees that will be dispersed throughout the capital and governmental buildings across the state. Duncan said like any farmer his crop depends on the weather. “Especially back in the spring the trees were kind of sickly-looking because of the cold weather. In one field, I took up about 200 trees out of about 800 or 1,000 because I had a lot of fungus to deal with. Other issues of trees freezing into the ground promoted losses as well.” Duncan said. Yes, the cold weather can actually hurt Christmas trees. Duncan said when the mercury drops his smaller trees can suffer. “If it gets down in the 20s, maybe even into the teens, you know low teens it could hurt the little trees. It don’t really bother the big trees because they have more in the way of needles and limbs to insulate them during the cold.” Overall Duncan said his 2014 crop is a good one although it has taken a lot of attention too. “You grow them, you fertilize them, and you keep them worked mowed, keep them clean, fertilize where they’ll grow.” Duncan said. Duncan said the work is all worth it when he sees a family find that perfect tree while enjoying the true meaning of Christmas. With the holiday season right around the corner, head down to one of the many local West Tennessee farms to buy a tree. For a listing of places in your neighborhood just visit the “Seen on 7” section.
