O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree, what kind of Christmas tree is best for me?

For many of us, putting up and decorating a Christmas tree is a staple part of the holiday season. Gathering with the family, pulling out boxes of handmade ornaments, and finding the perfect branch to put each one on is a time-honored tradition. For the truly adventurous, choosing a tree begins with a trek into our tree field with a saw in hand and seemingly limitless choices around you. At Van Wilgen’s we carry several varieties of Christmas trees, each with its own unique features. To help make the choice a little easier, we’ve compiled a few quick facts about our favorite tree options.

Fraser Fir

• All of our pre-cut trees are Fraser Firs, though we also have a selection available in the tree field
• Pre-cut trees range in size from 4 feet, up to 11 feet tall
• Trees in the field are up to 6 feet tall
• Needles are short, dark green with a silver underside
• Soft to the touch
• Very fragrant with excellent needle retention
• Branches are strong, making them great for heavy ornaments

Douglas Fir

• Trees are up to 8-9 feet in height
• Needles are long and light green in color
• Soft to the touch.
• Very full in shape.
• Extremely fragrant- smells like oranges!
• Best needle retention

Blue Spruce

• Up to 10 feet in height
• Needles are frosty blue in color
• Sharp to the touch…Kids & Pets be careful!
• Blue Spruce has the strongest branches making it the best choice for heavy ornaments
• Pleasant fragrance
• Good needle retention

Turkish Fir

• A Van Wilgen Favorite!
• Up to 7-8 feet in height (6-7 feet is average)
• Needles are dark green with a silvery underside
• Needles are larger and showier than that of Fraser Fir
• Soft to the touch
• Best fragrance and needle retention
• Sturdy branches are perfect for heavy ornaments

We look forward to seeing you soon!

It’s that time of year here at the garden center when we peek through the holiday greens on the patio and spot families trudging through our tree fields, decked out in their Sunday best, bags of pre-wrapped gifts or other props in hand. Everyone’s in search of the perfect spot to take the annual family photo. So many of these photos will end up being featured in holiday cards. If your like us and love to make your own cards instead of purchasing store-made ones, we know you’ll want your photos to be extra special.

We also know that in the midst of the yuletide season, with decorating, gift buying, worrying about delivery dates, backorders, and everything in between this holiday season, accomplishing a family photo can feel like an Olympic event! Wouldn’t it be great if someone made it a little easier for you? That’s where we can help.

In addition to our tree field, you can find photo-perfect decorated areas and lovely vignettes for you and your families to pose with. You can stop by one of our classic red barns, pose with one of our tractors or Dimond T truck, or get festive in the tree field. There are also loads of colors and photo-op spots located in the greenhouse and on our front patio. The sky is the limit! It’s a fun, festive time of year and it’s always a joy for us to be able to help.

Just in case you are looking for a few pointers on how to create great photos, here are a few simple tips:

• The best place to get flattering, natural lighting is outside.
• Try shooting in the morning or late afternoon to avoid the squint-inducing glare of direct sunlight.
• Find an area that your family can be in the shade, to secure even, soft light.
• Take a walk around, and see what areas inspire you. The sky’s the limit!

The holidays are upon us, and nothing brings that festive spirit out more than getting your Christmas tree. For many families, this means gathering up the family and traveling to cut a tree down. But for others, this means going to a nursery to pick out a live tree. While it may seem intimidating at first, decorating and then planting a tree that you can enjoy the rest of your life is simple, and only requires you to follow a few key guidelines.

• Pre dig your hole: By digging now and covering your hole with mulch or straw, you can avoid the hassle of having to dig in frozen ground.
• Slowly bring your tree inside: Your tree will be used to cold temperatures. Before bringing it to your heated indoor space, bring it to an unheated garage or porch first, allowing it to slowly acclimate.
• Plan to keep your tree inside no longer than five days. Any longer and the tree may begin to break dormancy.
• Keep the root ball moist but not overly wet.
• When moving outside, follow the same routine as you did while bringing them inside. Allow a week to readjust to colder temperatures before putting your tree out in the elements.

By following this list, as well as your usual planting instructions, you will be able to enjoy your tree year after year. Happy Holidays!

It’s that time of year again. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle that accompanies the holiday season, we somehow manage to find the time to continue the time-honored tradition of selecting and decorating the perfect Christmas tree. But after we have found that perfect tree, what to do next? How do we make sure that our “perfect” tree continues to look perfect through the holiday season? This is a common question for us here at Van Wilgen’s, and I would like to go over some very simple steps for keeping your cut tree looking its finest.

It is important to note that this article deals specifically with cut trees. We would be more than happy to assist you with any live tree (roots still attached) care at any one of our four locations. Before I list the steps that I recommend for keeping your tree looking its best, it may help to think of a cut tree like a large bouquet of flowers. Many of the practices we employ with our care of a vase of freshly cut flowers transfer over to our care of cut Christmas trees. Try these tips and I have no doubt you will be enjoying that perfect tree through the holiday season!

• Choose a stand that is large enough for your tree. Shaving down the bark to get the tree to fit is bad practice. Those outer layers of bark are the best at absorbing water, which is the most important part of keeping our tree fresh!
• Have a fresh cut done before putting the tree into the stand. This increases the water absorption capability of the tree.
• Get your tree in water AS SOON AS POSSIBLE after making this cut. Keep the cut free of dirt. This is the most critical point. The sooner you can get the tree into the water, the better.
• If you are not putting the tree into a stand immediately after the fresh-cut, it’s ok! Just be sure to put that tree into a bucket of water until you are ready to put it up!
• After your tree is in the stand, keep it full of water. Your tree will generally “drink” the most water within the first few days of being set up. It is critical that the stand remains full of water so check often! At the very least, check daily throughout the holiday season.
• Drilling a hole in the base of the tree does NOT help with water uptake.
• The temperature of the water that is added to the stand does NOT make a difference. Also, never add anything to the water to preserve freshness other than products specifically formulated to do so. Prolong is a good example of one. Using “home” remedies from the internet has no effect at best, and at worst may hasten the decline of the tree!
• Try to keep the tree away from direct heat sources whenever possible. For example, away from heat vents/registers, fireplaces, direct sunlight, space heaters, etc. Also, use lights that produce less heat such as L.E.D.’s. This has the added benefit of less energy consumption and longer life. Both of which are better for the environment!

In the end, it is all about maintaining and keeping moisture in your tree. If you take the steps to get your tree into water as soon as you can after the fresh-cut and keep the water in your stand full at all times, you will have that perfect Christmas tree looking its best through the holiday season! We hope you have the very best and brightest holiday season! And we look forward to seeing you soon!

It’s Christmas time!!, there’s nothing more exciting to me than decorating my home for the Christmas season.

Decorating should be fun, so put on some holiday music and let your imagination go.

Some of you will decorate with more of a classic style, and others will think outside the box just a bit more, like Trevor here at Van Wilgen’s. Did you know he has 9 trees set up in his house? Stop in our wreath room and talk to Trevor he has lots of cool ideas to help your tree or trees look amazing. Remember to have fun with it.

While Trevor likes to decorate with Lots of trees to get his holiday spirit on, I prefer to make my home festive by decorating with you guessed it, PLANTS!!

Our Poinsettias this year look amazing. So many colors to choose from, there’s something for everyone. Christmas red for the classic decorator and there’s even a blue for those thinking about something different. My favorite this year is one of our new poinsettias, the princettia series. The smaller and compact leaves give this poinsettia a stunning look. It is quickly becoming one of your favorites also as it is flying out the door fast this year.

You will need some companion plants to go along with your poinsettias, here’s a list of a few.

• Christmas cactus- colorful Christmas standard, everyone’s grandma had one years ago.
• Cyclamen-Lots of colors to choose from, gaining in popularity every year.
• Amaryllis- The large flowers on this plant are just stunning, and if your lucky and plan it perfectly they will bloom just in time for Christmas.
• Lemon cypress trees- These are for indoor use only. The color alone is a reason to have one, its lemony green color adds a great contrast in color to any holiday display, and the scent is oh so delicious.
• Norfolk Island pines- This is the perfect tree for those of you that want a real tree on a smaller scale. This is a tropical tree so it can not go outside when it’s cold. So, have fun decorating it for Christmas and afterward, you have a great houseplant for years to come.

There are even small 2 inch plants perfect for your office desk at work. Two of the favorites by far are the poinsettias and kalanchoes. Makes for a sweet little gift for someone.

Stop by, say hi, and get inspired to get your Christmas spirit on. Just walking into our greenhouse this time of year with all the colors going on in there will do just that.

Merry Christmas everyone

Turkish Fir is quickly becoming our most popular Choose & Cut Christmas trees at Van Wilgen’s. Growing Christmas trees is a labor of love. There is a lot of work that goes into making sure our fields are full of premium Van Wilgen Grown trees. We all know Fraser Fir,

The most popular Christmas tree in our area. They are great for needle retention, great color contrast, and pretty good for holding heavy ornaments. Frasers are slow-growing and may take up to 10 years before they can be harvested. They are also tricky to grow. Frasers do not like hot dry summers and are prone to many pests and fungal problems.

Those are many of the reasons we started looking for alternatives to Fraser Fir for our fields. We needed a tree that had all the great features of Fraser without many of the headaches. We were recommended to try Turkish Fir by many people we know in the industry. At the time none of us knew much about them. All the research on them was positive so we started planting them in our fields. We quickly saw we had a winner! They were growing much faster and fuller than Fraser. That we instantly liked! They have not suffered pest damage or root rot like Frasers either. All positives from a growing point of view.

Turkish Fir is native to the mountains of the Black Sea. Their needles are two-tone green and silvery blue that gives off a shimmery look. They are very full and elegant looking and have been the number one choice for Christmas trees in Europe for many years. They have sturdy branches for heavy ornaments and excellent needle retention. I invite you to come to walk our 15 acres of trees and see how great Turkish Fir are.

It’s the time of year to start talking about Christmas Trees. Although given the chilly weather we are having it’s easy to get into the spirit. Let’s give it a try! Here is a guide to help you select the perfect tree for this Christmas from Van Wilgen’s.

Fraser Fir

-Needles are short dark green with a silver underside.

-Soft to the touch.

-Very fragrant with excellent needle retention.

-Branches are strong, great for heavy ornaments.

Douglas Fir

-Needles are long light green in color

-Soft to the touch

-Very full in shape

-Extremely fragrant- it smells like oranges!

-Best needle retention

Blue Spruce

-Needles are deep blue in color

-Sharp to the touch…Kids & Pets be careful!

-Strongest branches…Perfect for heavy ornaments

-Pleasant fragrance

-Good needle retention

Turkish Fir

-A Van Wilgen Favorite!

-Needles are dark green with a silver underside.

-Needles are larger and showier than Fraser Fir.

-Soft to the touch.

-Best fragrance and needle retention.

-Sturdy branches are perfect for heavy ornaments.

The holidays are upon us, and nothing brings that festive spirit out more than getting your Christmas tree. For many families, this means gathering up the family and traveling to cut a tree down. But for others, this means going to a nursery to pick out a live tree. While it may seem intimidating at first, decorating and then planting a tree that you can enjoy the rest of your life is simple, and only requires you to follow a few key guidelines.

• Pre dig your hole: By digging now and covering your hole with mulch or straw, you can avoid the hassle of having to dig in frozen ground.
• Slowly bring your tree inside: Your tree will be used to cold temperatures. Before bringing it to your heated indoor space, bring it to an unheated garage or porch first, allowing it to slowly acclimate.
• Plan to keep your tree inside no longer than five days. Any longer and the tree may begin to break dormancy.
• Keep the root ball moist but not overly wet.
• When moving outside, follow the same routine as you did while bringing them inside. Allow a week to readjust to colder temperatures before putting your tree out in the elements.

By following this list, as well as your usual planting instructions, you will be able to enjoy your tree year after year. Happy Holidays!

Will O’Hara