The Making of a Slim Christmas Tree

Slim trees are the Christmas tree of choice for city dwellers, country cottage owners, and really all people who love Christmas but have limited living space for decorating. These slim trees, sometimes called pencil trees, are sleek, elegant, and take up minimum floor space. People who don’t have lots of room don’t need to skip putting up Christmas trees with slim tree options available among the artificial Christmas tree and live Christmas tree market. Maybe you haven’t thought much about what goes into growing slim trees before. Like any Christmas tree, it’s quite a lengthy process that requires careful care and maintenance. First, some fun facts about live Christmas trees: Between 30 and 35 million Christmas trees are produced for sale in the United States each year. Up to 98 percent of these trees are grown on tree farms and plantations, with Oregon topping the charts as the leading producer of Christmas trees. Christmas trees grow on farms in 49 states, with frigid Alaska as the exception. It is on these farms that trees take their shape. Farmers control tree height by shearing the tip of the tree’s leading shoot, and they taper the sides with shearers to determine its fullness and density. The fullest Christmas trees have about a 90 percent taper, while slim trees are tapered to 40 percent or less. In all, it takes about 12 years for a tree to grow to the average height for commercial sale—about six to seven feet. Although growers take care to produce trees of varying shapes to serve the tastes of many different customers, it can be hard to find a live slim tree that is exactly right for your space. Luckily, modern manufacturers are also major producers of artificial Christmas trees, churning out countless options for people shopping for fake trees. These trees can be ordered in an assortment of widths, heights, and finishes, including flocked and prelit varieties. These fabulous trees even come in a whole slew of color options. If you’re in the market for fake faux trees, shop the wide selection available at Artificial Plants and Trees. Merry Christmas!