Types Of Christmas Trees
What are the types of Christmas trees? A brightly lit and well decorated Christmas tree is one of the most easily recognized symbols of the winter holidays. The ritual of picking out a Christmas tree is almost as important as the decorations themselves. The types of Christmas trees traditionally used are conifers. Conifers are a type of evergreen, and an evergreen is a tree that maintains its foliage year round. Depending on preference and location, people choose a variety of different types of Christmas trees. The different types of Christmas trees used present with different needles, branch firmness, fragrances, and length of time that needles remain once cut down.
The most common types of Christmas trees are pines, cedars, firs, spruces, and cypresses. Pines come in several varieties. The afghan pine is native to Afghanistan, Russia, and Pakistan. These trees are grown in Texas for the Christmas holiday, and they are known for soft, short needles, and a mild fragrance. These trees keep well. The Austrian pine has dark green needles, maintains its needles, and a moderate fragrance. The Ponderosa pine is similar to the Austrian pine except its needles are a slightly lighter shade of green. Like the Austrian pine, the red pine has dark green needles of moderate length, but it is bigger and bushier. The scotch pine is the most common Christmas tree. It is known for its one inch needles, strong aroma, and openness. The needles and fragrance will last throughout the holiday season. The Virginia pine is a small to medium tree with strong dark green needles and a heavy pine scent. These trees are dense and capable of holding heavy ornaments. The white pine is a full, dark blue tree with an open appearance and almost no fragrance. It has long, soft needles and is often used in furniture.
There are only two types of cedars commonly used as Christmas trees. The deodora cedar has short blue-green needles and the eastern red cedar has dark, shiny, green needles that are sticky to the touch. Like cedars, there are only two common cypress trees. The Arizona cypress and the Leland cypress both have blue-grey needles that point up in a feathered appearance. The trees have a mild aroma and do not produce sap.
There are eight different types of firs used as Christmas trees. The Douglas fir and the Fraser fir are the most prevalent of the group. Douglas firs have dark blue-green needles that radiate in all directions from the branch. The Douglas fir has one of the most pleasant aromas. A Fraser fir is known for its flat, dark, green needles and silvery underside. Other firs include the balsam fir, Canaan fir, grand fir, noble fir, nordmann fir, and the white or concolar fir.
The final types of Christmas trees are from the spruce family. At least five types of spruce are used as decorative trees. They can have a dark, shiny green needle, a blue-green needle, or a powdery blue needle. Their needle retention is good to poor, depending on type, and they rarely grow longer than one inch. These are the black hills spruce, the blue spruce, Colorado blue spruce, Norway spruce, and the white spruce.
