20 Different Types of Christmas Trees
Did you know the earliest recorded Christmas tree was at Tuckheim, Alsace, in 1576? Christmas trees are an iconic part of the holiday season. They bring cheer to homes and offices, and their scent is synonymous with Christmas. But did you know there are many different Christmas trees? “The best Christmas trees come perilously close to outperforming nature. If some of our vast decorated trees had been grown in a secluded forest with lights that turned on every evening as it got dark, the entire world would have gathered to marvel at the mystery of their fantastic beauty. ” Andy Rooney
The National Christmas Tree Association reports that there are 350 million Christmas trees grown throughout the United States, on Christmas tree farms, with 25 and 30 million real Christmas trees sold each year. Each type of Christmas tree has unique history and cultural significance. We will explore 20 different types of Christmas trees worldwide.
1. The New Brunswick Provincial Tree, Balsam fir
The Balsam fir has a conical shape with dense leaves, more so in the upper third of the tree. The tree has flat top needles that do not fall, and the underside of the hands has two parallel white lines. Additionally, the firm also has a purplish color. Also, the balsam fir bark is very smooth. However, it is not great for heavy ornamentals due to the flexibility of its needles.
Balsam fir thrives in the eastern section of its range, which includes southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Chilly temperatures and copious rainfall distinguish this region.
2. The Douglas fir
The Douglas fir tree has dense, compact foliage that holds its branches exclusively to the ground. It has flattened, soft, slightly pointed needles growing around the stem, giving it an entire round appearance.
Additionally, it has long dark orange-red shiny and pointed buds, sometimes called “cigar shapes.” The Douglas fir cones are unique and measure 1.25 to 4 inches long. Below the scales are three spiny bracts.
In the Klamath Mountains, you can find Douglas-fir from west-central British Columbia to central California, the coast ranges of the south like the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada as far south as Yosemite. California does not have the Rocky Mountains variation.
3. The North Carolina Christmas State Tree, Fraser fir
The Fraser fir is one of the commonly used types of Christmas trees due to its uniform pyramid shape. The tree, once grown, can attain a height of roughly 80 feet. It has upward-facing stable branches that give the tree a compact appearance.
The Fraser fir has flattened, dark green leaves with white bands on the lower surface. In addition, the bands have rows of pores and dark green leaves. Due to their curl, the leaves form a U-shaped appearance on the upper twigs. It has gray, thin, and smooth bark. Therefore, due to its pleasant scent, needle retention, and shipping characteristics, the Fraser tree has become one of the best types of Christmas tree.
4. Colorado’s Official Tree, Colorado Blue Spruce
The Colorado spruce’s silver hue is undoubtedly one of the most stunning colors for the Christmas season. The tree has a single stiff and sharply pointed end with angles on the side. They are medium, narrow, and pyramidal-shaped conifers with a beautiful scent and silvery blue foliage.
The branches are horizontal and extend to the ground. Due to the sharp needles, they do not have much fragrance unless the leaves are unbroken. As a result, they have an unpleasant smell and are generally smaller in size. “It’s still strange to spend money on Christmas trees. We used to go “tree hunting” while Mom was living. At least, that’s what she called it. I believe other people may use the term “trespassing.” Jenny Han,
5. The Christmas Tree, or the Noble Fir
The noble fir, noted for its beauty, has a long shelf life, and its sturdy branches make it a fantastic tree for heavy ornaments and excellent greens for wreaths and garlands. The noble fir has bluish green 1.5-inch needles curved at the tip and ridged beneath.
The tree grows into a pyramidal form and yields cylindrical cones 6-10 feet long. When the fruits are young, they are green. to purplish blue as they mature. Also, the cones have green bracts and are held upright on the topmost branches. Additionally, the tree has gray-brown and smooth bark that becomes dark gray-brown or reddish brown and long, irregular scaly plates.
The tree grows in the coastal ranges of the Pacific Northwest between Washington and Oregon in southwest Canada.
6. Scotland’s National Tree, Scorch Pine
Scorch pine is a species of conifer native to the western United States. It is an evergreen tree growing to 8–15 m tall, with a trunk up to 1.5 m in diameter. The leaves are needle-like, 2–4 cm long, distributed singly or in pairs, and green on top and bronze beneath.
The cones are small and dark blue-green, 8–12 mm long, maturing 18–24 months after pollination. They have no conspicuous bracts or winged seeds, but they have a ring of resin around the base of each scale. Scorched pine is a relatively rare sight in cultivation; its small size and distinctive shape make it difficult to grow outside its native range. It would be best if you handled the scorch pine with care as it has crooked trunks.
The trees are found primarily in rocky places in Utah and California, where they can survive wildfires.
7. The Tree of Peace, Eastern white pine
The white pine is a giant coniferous tree native to north-east America. The tree has long, flexible, blue-green needles that sometimes reach five inches, growing in bundles of five. It has curved, smooth, elongated cones with a straight crowned trunk. A young tree’s bark is smooth and gray. Nevertheless, as it ages, it becomes dark and wrinkled. This pine has an extremely low scent and requires water to avoid wilting. Its needles are soft and therefore do not hold heavy ornaments.
You can find the white pine from southwestern Manitoba to Newfoundland, as well as in Northern Georgia and Northwest Iowa.
8. Norway’s National Tree, the Norway spruce
One of the quickest growing trees is the Norway spruce, developing dark green needles. It has dark green needles around 0.5 to 1 foot in length. It also has light brown 4-6 stiffly scaled scones that turn downwards after fertilization.
The Norway fir has a deep citrus scent that covers the surroundings. Did you know that the Norway spruce is the original Christmas tree?
The Norway spruce’s primary use is in outdoor environments across Europe and the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is a cheaper option as compared to the Fraser fir variety. It’s also the perfect choice for hanging light decorations.
9. The Great Peace Tree, White fir
Donald Peattie recognized the white fir’s (Abies color) beauty and said that its future lies in its value as an ornamental tree, and he was right. The white fir is a prevalent type of Christmas tree. The tree grows pyramidal and has silvery bluish 1.5-3 inch long leaves that extend upwards from the twig’s sides. It produces 3-6 foot cones that start olive green and turn purple-brown as they mature. Furthermore, the cones are retained upright on the branches and disintegrate while on the trees.
The white fir is native to the Cascade ranges and rocky southern mountains and southern Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. However, the tree might be expensive because it takes a long time to mature.
10. State Tree of Colorado – Black Hills Spruce
The Black Hills spruce (Picea glauca)has a dense, compact habit and grows in a pyramidal fashion. It is a common type of Christmas tree because of these qualities. The spruce tree has dark green to blue-green needles that are rigid, sharply pointed, and a third to three-quarters in length. They are also helically arranged on the branches.
The spruce cones are 1-2 inches in diameter. The tree also has credible uses as a windbreaker, a privacy screen, and for its everyday use as a Christmas tree. In addition, the Blackhill spruce has a wide variety of benefits for holiday decorations and landscaping of backyards after the holiday season.
In addition, gardeners use the trees in making shrub shelters to overwinter garden bushes. In the book Handbook on Conifers, Henry Buescher describes the black hill spruce as one of the five finest conifers. However, besides its top-notch beauty, he does not add other reasons.
The tree is native to the southern and central Rocky Mountains of the western United States, from western Wyoming and eastern Idaho south to Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and central Colorado, and scarcely in central Montana.
11. The Balsams and Fraser Hybrid, Canaan Fir
This tree is also known as the balsam and Fraser’s fir hybrid and the Fraser fir and is native to the mountains of Western Virginia. The Canaan fir has a good smell and a different traditional evergreen shape, making it one of the world’s most beautiful varieties of Christmas trees.
Additionally, it can grow in areas where the Fraser and balsam fir cannot. Also, the Canaan fir can survive the longest time after being cut and has strong branches for holding ornaments and decorations. The Canaan fir has short, soft, dark green needles that are silvery blue beneath, while some have blue tints on the needle tips.
12. The Grand Fir
The Grand fir ranks among the tallest firs that grow along the southern coast around the Columbia and Kootenay rivers. The grand fir has flat needles with a round top. They have a dark green and grooved top with two white bands below. Also, the hands form flat sprays showing the upper and lower parts of the twig.
The tree has barrel-shaped yellowish-green cones upright on the branches at the crowns. Additionally, the cones shed the scales with seeds in autumn. Finally, it has smooth bark with white spots and blisters.
13. Virginia Pine
The Virginia pine is also known as scrub pine or spruce pine. It is a native of the Piedmont and mountain regions, growing in impure stands.
The Virginia pine is a monoecious plant that grows around 15 to 40 feet tall with a 10-30 feet spread. It has orange-brown, pale green flowers with red-brown scales that are 1.5-2.5 inches long and persistent. The bark is scaly orange-brown when young. It is a medium-sized tree that develops a flat top crown and sharply angled branches.
14. The Leyland Cypress
Leyland cypress is a fast-growing slender tree widespread in the United States. They have a high yield, making them appropriate for use as Christmas trees, windbreaks, and landscape beautification.
It has a higher preference as a typical Christmas tree type because of its pyramid shape when not pruned, and the Grand fir is one of the tallest firs that grow. The tree has a bluish-green scale-like needle flattened at the top of the evergreen sprays. They also have conical 0.5-0.75-scale globular cones that have eight scales.
The Leyland cypress is a hybridization between the Monterey cypress and the Nootka cypress, and its christening was after the first person to plant it, C.J. Leyland. It can grow in areas where different types of trees cannot.
15. The Arizona Cypress
The Arizona cypress(cypresses Arizona)is a drought and heat-tolerant cypress that mainly grows in Mexico and southwestern Mexico and is discovered by E.L. Green in the 1880s.
Because the Arizona cypress has standard moisture requirements, you can plant it in homes. They also grow in pyramidal structures, making them good Christmas trees during the holiday season.
Their bark is tough and gray-brown, and they have dark reddish brown cones that mature in the second year but persist for many years. Also, for hanging decorations, they have a selection of things like gray needles overlapping each other and encircling the branches. However, the tree has tiny needles and a redolent scent for the best Christmas experience.
16. The Fire Resistant Red Cedar
The red cedar is a dense, pyramid-shaped tree favorable for use during Christmas. Birds love its beautiful flowers and berries, which may attract them to chirp if you do not have a Christmas melody bringing out the natural Christmas eve mood.
The red cedar grows well in open spaces with scale-like evergreen leaves forming four-sided or round branchlets. The tree grows pyramidal and produces gray or bluish green quarter diameter rounded fruits. The fruits comprise fused cone scales.
Arthur Barlow and Philip Amadeus say it was the reddest and tallest cedar in the world when they arrived on Roanoke Island in 1564. The red cedar is native to eastern North America and Mexico and releases pollen in spring.
17. The Nordmann Fir
The Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana) is the Caucasian fir or Christmas tree fir. Christian Von Steven christened the tree after Alexander von Normas, the curator of the Odessa botanical park.
The tree has wide use as a type of Christmas tree because of the compelling foliage and blunt needle that does not drop out with a smell like a fake Christmas tree. The tree has a trunk of up to 2 meters with flattened needle-like leaves.
The Nordman fir has nonstick needles and long post-harvest quality if put in water. It has smooth and grey bark and glossy and dark green hands. Additionally, it has solid arrows and branch vigor.
The Nordmann fir is indigenous to Iran, Georgia, Russia, and Turkey in the Caucasus region.
18. The Tree of Birth, Serbian spruce
The Serbian spruce (Picea omorika) is an evergreen tree that keeps its foliage all year round. The spruce needles are pointy, flat, and dark green, going up to one inch in length.
The cones have a purple color that changes to a reddish brown as the tree matures. The Serbian spruce is a low-maintenance crop that is easy to grow. It’s native to southeastern Europe and Serbia, Herzegovina, and Bosnia.
19. The Korean Fir
The Korean fir is a slow-growing tree, taking ten years to achieve a 10-foot height. The tree is an enchanting medium-sized evergreen coniferous with a perfect conical shape. Due to the stomatal bands, it has attractive foliage with a broad, flattened needle that is dark green with white beneath.
The tree produces cones at an extremely young age. The dense cones are blue or purple at maturity. It also has a screen of yellow scale bracts that emerge between the scales in the closed cones. The tree has a smooth gray bark that has resin blisters. It is native to Korea but can grow in the USDA hardiness zones 5-7
20. The Wood of the Gods, Deodar Cedar
Deodar cedar, as a type of Christmas tree, is an evergreen coniferous tree or large shrub in the genus Cedrus. It is endemic to the western Himalayas, the eastern Mediterranean, and western North America, where it grows on rocky slopes and woodlands.
The trees have dense, matted canopies that can become very large and thick. The leaves are needle-like, with a single spiral groove. They grow in clusters and turn from green to gold in the gods” because it is considered the most graceful of all cider trees. Deodar cedar was also known as the “wood of the gods” because it is considered the most graceful of all cider trees.
Deodar cedar grows best in cold areas with low humidity and rocky soils. Consequently, it’s grown in several different countries throughout the world.
Which Christmas Tree Lasts the Longest?
The Fraser fir lasts five weeks and is the best long-lasting Christmas tree. The second, staying for four weeks, is the Douglas fir.
What Christmas Tree Doesn’t Shed Needles?
The Nordmann fir doesn’t shed needles and is commonly known as the” non-drop tree” because of its excellent needle retention.
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