30 December 2024
Did you buy a live Christmas tree this year? If you live in Pennsylvania, chances are good that it grew at a local tree farm. PA ranks 4th among the top Christmas tree producing states.
How long did it take to become a Christmas tree? According to the National Christmas Tree Association, “it can take as many as 15 years to grow a Christmas tree of typical height (6 – 7 feet) or as little as 4 years, but the average growing time is 7 years.”
From seed to sapling here’s what it might have looked like during its first two years.
The time lapse shows a stone pine (Pinus pinea) which is unlikely to become a Christmas tree. Native to the Mediterranean, they have been planted around the world.
I probably saw them in Spain without knowing their significance. I imagine they are the trees in the background of my photo of the “Shade Horse” at Parque Natural de Los Alcornocales, Spain last September.
