Christmas Tree 2025

Picked up Neighbor Anita around 8 a.m. this morning and we took off for Winter Greenhouses.   Winter Greenhouse gave us 'bonus bucks' when we bought plants in May.  Those 'bonus bucks' can be used for up to half the price of plants bought in the month of July. I've been using them for the last four years to pick out my live Christmas tree.    Anita wasn't looking for anything specific so when we got there she walked around to see if something might  pique her interest.  I headed for the tree section.  They had some beautiful Larch.   That's another name for Tamarack (basically) and it obviously wouldn't work for what I wanted (think 'Nightmare before Christmas').  There were Inversa Norway Spruce.  Yikes - talk about a downer for a Christmas tree.  A Mugo Pine would make a pudgy roly-poly type Christmas tree but would get lost in the tall grass when I plant it outside next year.  Bright green Balsam looked beautiful but I'd read a paper on which trees would do best in the Northwoods as climate change progressed and Balsam weren't on the list.   Blue Spruce would be a nice change but they are susceptible to a myriad of diseases.  It would be White Spruce again.  There were some small ones and a group that were as tall as I am if you included the root ball.  The tall ones were better filled out and I found one that would do.  About this time Anita came over.   I showed her the tree I was interested in and she gave a little gasp at the price tag.  She turned back to the smaller trees and pointed out they were nicely trimmed.   She asked if I thought I could move the bigger tree from Mjolnir to Haven and back again at Christmas time.  I gave it's bucket  a tentative shove.  It was heavy!  Even w/ a dolly, moving it across the gravel driveway would be difficult not to mention if there was a layer of snow.    An assistant walked over and I pointed to the smaller trees.  "Which one do you think would make a good Christmas tree?"  That brought a smile to his face and I finally settled on one.  He put the tree in my car and wedged it in place w/ two bags of potting soil.  On the way home I was thinking, "Anita had the right idea." My miniature ornaments would show up on this small tree but get lost in the branches of the bigger one.  Also, I think this more diminutive specimen would handle spending the winter in Mjolnir better than the behemoth.  Not to mention that  Anita saved me quite a chunk of change (the big tree was three times the cost of the smaller one).   Note to self: always take someone w/ me when picking out Christmas trees.