The Scotch Pine
Nothing beats the lore of picking out a real Christmas tree and my favorite species of Christmas tree is the Scotch pine.
December 2, 2007
The Scotch Pine by Scott Heeren, Forester
Clicking through my memory banks, I can't recall each and every Christmas tree that helped me celebrate that season during my lifetime. But the feeling of excitement felt as a kid, piling into the family station wagon, and eager to pick out the Christmas tree, is remembered liked yesterday.
We were never first in line to pick out a tree at Earl May Garden Center in Iowa. My Dad waited until a few trees started to get a shelf life and price became negotiable. My two brothers' standard line is, "We became lawyers because our parents stressed fairness and Scott became a forester because of the Christmas trees we brought home."
Nothing beats the lore of picking out a real Christmas tree and my favorite species of Christmas tree is the Scotch pine.
Strength of the Scotch Pine
If you like living in the Midwest and enjoy the heat of summer days and bitterness of winter blizzards, then you can appreciate and respect the toughness of a Scotch pine. Like numerous residents of the Midwest, the Scotch pine is of European descent and adapts to many sites found on Midwestern tree farms. They grow readily on light sandy soils that become so dry they blow away and also on heavy clay soils that bake and turn as hard as brick. There is nothing finicky in the nature of a Scotch pine.
Decorating Your Tree
Since the mid 1960's, Scotch pine has been the traditional Christmas tree for Indiana families. As a cut Christmas tree, their needle retention is very good. Properly cared for, a Scotch pine can be brought into the home shortly after Thanksgiving and it will remain fresh well past Christmas.
Scotch pine branches are stiff enough to support heavier ornaments and larger lights. Ornaments should be displayed hanging down rather than lying on the side of a dense tree. Personally, I prefer a scotch pine with some openness rather than a tightly sheared tree which is best for showing off your ornament collection. Scotch pine also tends to be a cleaner tree in terms of leaving sap on your hands as you handle them.