2007 PRESS RELEASES
October 23, 2007
2007 VIRGINIA CHRISTMAS TREE GUIDE AVAILABLE NOW
Contact: Marion Horsley, 804.225.3820
If your Fa-la-la-la-la needs a tune-up, your one-horse open sleigh is missing a runner, and you don’t feel like shouting out with glee, you’d better watch out because that holly, jolly holiday is right around the corner. Start your attitude adjustment and your Christmas planning with a copy of the new 2007 Virginia Grown Guide to Choose-and-Cut, Fresh-Cut, and Live Christmas Trees. A fragrant, fresh, real Virginia Grown Christmas tree is the centerpiece of the holiday season and choosing the perfect one is an essential part of the tradition and the fun.
Just published by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) and available free to the public as well as online, the Christmas tree guide provides information on 70 growers who sell cut-your-own, pre-cut and live Virginia Grown Christmas trees.
The guide lists growers alphabetically by county. Each listing includes the varieties of trees for sale, services offered, the hours of operation, and directions. In addition to location and phone number, many growers also provide fax numbers, e-mail and Web site addresses. The guide encourages customers to contact the Christmas tree farm to confirm hours and product availability before traveling to any location.
Under the services section, the guide lists assistance such as providing saws, baling trees, and free shaking and loading. But there is much more. The guide also describes the holiday specialties featured at each farm.
Along with their trees, many growers also sell holiday must-haves such as wreaths, roping, garland, poinsettias and tree stands, as well as a variety of decorations, crafts and gifts. Guests may also find extras such as hot cider, coffee or candy canes. At some farms, visitors can enjoy wagon rides, marshmallow roasting and animals to pet. Several Christmas tree operations encourage picnicking, many take great pride in the beauty of their mountain views or woodland settings, and all offer warm hospitality. With so much to enjoy, you will want to bring along family and friends to share a memorable day in the beautiful Virginia countryside.
When it comes to picking the perfect Virginia Grown tree, buyers have a variety of choices. They can select from white or Scotch pines with their long, slender needles; Norway or blue spruce trees, both very full with bristly needles; and Douglas or Fraser firs featuring longer, softer needles and a blue-green color. Although those are the dominant varieties available, Virginia also offers other selections in limited quantities including Canaan and Concolor firs and Leyland cypress.
Freshness is an important feature of every locally-grown Virginia Christmas tree. Freshly cut trees retain their needles longer and are less flammable than trees brought in from out-of-state, which may have been cut as much as a month or more in advance. The guide offers tips on caring for both cut and live trees to make sure they add their beauty and fragrance to the holiday celebration for as long as possible.
In Virginia, Christmas tree farming is a major agricultural industry with thousands of trees harvested and sold annually by hundreds of farms throughout the state. As mature trees are cut, new seedlings are planted each year, making Christmas trees one of our most renewable resources. When the holidays end, Christmas trees keep on contributing. Discarded trees enhance the environment because they return to the soil quickly, enriching it during the process of decay.
Virginia’s Christmas tree industry is a participant in the Virginia’s Finest trademark program. Growers whose trees meet standards set by the industry and approved by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may apply to use the well-known blue check and red A trademark, which signifies the best of the best agricultural products. In the guide, the trademark is shown next to the listings of growers who have earned the Virginia’s Finest designation.
For a free copy of the 2007 Virginia Grown Guide to Choose-and-Cut, Fresh-Cut, and Live Christmas Trees, send the request to “Christmas Tree Guide,” VDACS, P. O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218, or call 804.371.0446. The guide is also available online.