Eight varieties, one decision
Which Christmas tree should you buy?
Most of the difference between one Christmas tree and another comes down to four things: how long it holds its needles, how much it smells, whether the branches will carry your heaviest ornaments, and how sharp it is to decorate. Everything else is preference.
We grow all eight of these ourselves, so this is not a chart copied off a poster. If you want the short answer: Fraser fir is the safe choice, Balsam is the one that smells like Christmas, and if the corner is narrow take a Serbian spruce.
| Tree | Holds needles | Scent | Branches | Needles | Shape |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fraser Fir | Excellent | Mild | Strong | Soft, blunt | Narrow, evenly tapered |
| Balsam Fir | Very good | Strong | Medium | Soft, flat | Slim, open layers |
| Canaan Fir | Very good | Strong | Strong | Soft, flat | Full, well filled |
| Scotch Pine | Exceptional | Moderate | Very strong | Long, stiff | Dense and full |
| White Pine | Excellent | Very light | Light | Long, very soft | Full and feathery |
| Blue Spruce | Moderate | Sharp when crushed | Very strong | Stiff, sharp | Dense, very symmetrical |
| Meyer Spruce | Good | Light | Strong | Stiff but blunter | Dense and uniform |
| Serbian Spruce | Good | Light | Medium | Slim, moderately soft | Notably narrow |
The eight we grow
Come and stand next to them
Every one of these reads differently in person than it does in a table. At the farms you can walk the rows and compare them standing, which is the only way anyone has ever really chosen a Christmas tree.