Christmas trees. Cut em or buy em?

[teledad]

I don’t know where Donut is, but I’ve never heard of that restriction in 10+ years of cutting trees in Tahoe NF, and don’t see it listed here: https://www.recreation.gov/tree-perm...f-6e0e43d29f74

[ski-wpk]

TBD on what type of tree to get this year. We always cut in Arapaho NF for $20 but our last year’s tree came infested with powder post beetles. No bugs in the house post-holiday, but I cut the trunk for firewood and the beetles emerged in the spring. Had to dispose of about 1/2 cord of firewood where the infested pine logs were…

[neufox47]

Gotta cut your own IMO.


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[Core Shot]

Go fantastic plastic. Lasts 20 years. Or more. Until it starts shedding. Mine is done. Plastic needles all over.

Switched to real trees for a few years when the kids were young. But I always felt bad for the tree. Until Christmas was over and I set it on fire. Crackle crackle.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

I don’t know where Donut is, but I’ve never heard of that restriction in 10+ years of cutting trees in Tahoe NF, and don’t see it listed here: https://www.recreation.gov/tree-perm...f-6e0e43d29f74

It’s usually listed on the map of permitted areas for a given forest. It’s on some FS web pages for permits.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/wallo...fsbdev7_008903
That’s just one example. On the Wenatchee NF you can’t cut within 200 feet of roads. It varies from Forest to Forest. Most people don’t bother to read the rules on their permits


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[lowsparkco]

Last year we bought a little potted blue spruce and brought it inside for the holidays. It sat outside in the sun the rest of the winter, getting water with the other plants on warmer days. In the spring we put it in the ground and it’s thriving. If we had more space to plant them I think I’d buy one every year until they got big enough to cut and bring in. Mini Xmas tree farm.

[The AD]

Been going the China Fir route for quite a while

Dealing with a live tree is just too much hassle.

[Touring_Sedan]

Got lazy and didn’t feel like dealing with the potential shit show in the hills, $75 at Whole Foods for a pretty nice 7’ tree.


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This is likely to be the whitest thing I'll hear all week.

[petey_]

Switched to real trees for a few years when the kids were young. But I always felt bad for the tree. Until Christmas was over and I set it on fire. Crackle crackle.

Do you feel any remorse every time you chow down on a piece of broccoli? Sheesh!

Twenty five or so years ago we planted a dozen evergreens around our house. As the years flew by and the trees started to become Triffid like entities ready to take over the property I cut them down one year at a time and used them as Christmas trees. The un-fun part was pick axing the roots out of the ground during the spring. Fast forward to today and two of them still remain blocking the sun from reaching the garden. Now it is too late to cut them down without violating local bylaws.

[Core Shot]

^^^broccoli cries

[XXX-er]

I worked on a research project "Juveniles in the understory " where we measured > 1100 trees under 4 meters

measured SMR and SNR of soil

latest 5 yrs of growth, tree diameter at 10cm & at breast height (130cm) count rings

% of light by taking a pict with a fish-eye lense pointing straight up and running the image thru a program

we had to kill them all for science so that was > 2200 cuts with a 9" fiskar saw

so I offed a lot of x-mas trees

[allmountainsnowskating]

Cut down at a Christmas tree farm

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[Toadman]

You’re not saving the planet by cutting a fresh tree in December then burning or mulching it in January

And Christmas tree farms (in OR anyway) harvest on an 8-12 yr cycle, in terrain unsuitable for annual crops like broccoli

But what about cannabis?

I received a 12' artificial tree last year from my Aunt. It was too tall for their low ceilings. (They moved from a house with 14' ceilings to one that's 9'. ) Pretty easy to set up and take down each year. Don't miss vacuuming up all the needles.

[skiballs]

This is likely to be the whitest thing I'll hear all week.

Shit, that could be said of any post on here.



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[donutlynx]

It’s pretty universal across different Forests. Where are you?

Sort of universal. As you mentioned, it is important to read the details of the permit for your cutting area. For example, on the ODub NF, the FS says no cutting trees within 200 feet of the following roads:

-Naches District—along Highway 410, Highway 12, and Forest Service Roads #1200, #1800, and #1900
-Entiat District—along the Entiat Valley Road
-Cle Elum District—along I-90 and Highway 97
-Methow Valley District—along Highway 20 over Loup Loup Pass between Twisp and Okanogan. Along Harts Pass road #5400. Along North Cascades Scenic Highway between east and west scenic highway portal signs (including all side roads).

However, aren't there many other "roads" that are not listed above within the permit area?

Where folks are allowed to cut trees depends on many factors that land managers consider. In my cutting area, we are not supposed to cut within 200' of state highways, campgrounds, or other developed areas. I will clarify that when I wrote "road" - I meant a forest road controlled by a federal land management agency. Removing young trees that have grown into the road prism helps to keep forest roads maintained (Christmas tree cutting in these areas is arguably a minimal contribution, at best).

Around here we do roadside vegetation maintenance along forest roads (up the cut slope to 5' back of the uphill hinge point, and down the fill slope 6' to 10'). This is to keep sight lines open, mitigate falling tree hazards and slope erosion, and keep the road prism in a state where the surface can be graded efficiently. Roadside vegetation maintenance can help with establishing control lines for wildland fire and the general safety of traffic. We cut all vegetation in within those limits - trees, shrubs, poison oak, etc.

Too much info, I'm sure. But I could not be in greater agreement with reading the permit and playing by the rules.

[Truckee Joe]

I will always cut my own. I also live on a Christmas tree farm so its almost too easy. If your tree is fresh then it doesn’t tend to drop needles. Went with a red fir this year. Usually we get a white fir.

I definitely don’t feel bad for the tree, we need the defensible space and at least this one gets to be a real trophy for a short time.


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[swimmy]

We buy one every Friday after Thanksgiving. My old neighbor owns one of the lots in town and I like having different options. This year we went with a Pine...Scot Pine maybe? Made the garland to match.

Cheesy Hallmark movie, dog by the fire, and Xmas decorations...yeah I dig it.

[BmillsSkier]

We buy one every Friday after Thanksgiving. My old neighbor owns one of the lots in town and I like having different options. This year we went with a Pine...Scot Pine maybe? Made the garland to match.

Cheesy Hallmark movie, dog by the fire, and Xmas decorations...yeah I dig it.

Well done.

[hawkgt]

either cut or precut my whole life up until last year when tore the acl. wife took advantage of my years of stubbornness for real and now gone fake with pre set lights. easy set up and cant say i miss a real tree.

worked a golf course/driving range for a few years that had a tree farm for winter income. that was fun dragging family's out to the field to let them tag trees on tractors with wagons. we cut them down and then wrapped them up / put on the car. had fire barrels, hot chocolate and all the works.

[BCMtnHound]

worked a golf course/driving range for a few years that had a tree farm for winter income. that was fun dragging family's out to the field to let them tag trees on tractors with wagons. we cut them down and then wrapped them up / put on the car. had fire barrels, hot chocolate and all the works.

For funding our grad dinner in uni, we sold Xmas trees. All years in the program contributed. One of the funnest ‘jobs’ I ever did. People were happy, enjoyed a bit of help loading, never diggled on price and tipped well for assistance in loading/securing the tree. Several came in looking for the classic Charlie Brown tree, those were always fun. Coffee and hot chocolate was generously spiked with alcohol, which at -30C didn’t really kick in until you went in the heated trailer shack to get change. Once the trees were shipped in a hog truck. The trees from the edge of the truck would become very floral once they were set up in the houses. We accept all the returns, and spent a bit trying to sniff out the worst offenders before they got sold (again, a bit challenging at -30C temps, with a slightly middle constitution).

Always figured it would be a great seasonal retirement gig, just to get out and enjoy the season. Never minded going out and harvesting a few trees for ourselves, family and friends either.

[Grange]

These days I use a fake tree as it's easier to set up and take down. Growing up we would often get a permit go into the national forest and cut a tree. It was a great family outing and it was fun side activity when we were out bird hunting or cutting firewood to look out for the perfect Christmas tree.

[Buzzworthy]

Fond memories galore from going out to a tree farm outside of Bellingham each year to cut our own with my family. My love for the outdoors and forests were born there and I do miss that sorta thing living in a city anymore. We’ve had our tree in a box over a decade now. It’s not the same.

[nickwm21]

Might go down to the corner tree lot on Xmas-eve and do the old “I’ll give you 5 bucks for that tree. Whatcha gunna do with it tomorrow?”


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[k2skier112]

Where the hell is the Festivus thread

[schindlerpiste]

This thread needs pics.