One of our growers has over 5000 acres of trees averaging 1600 trees per
acre and an annual harvest of over 800,000 trees. Throughout their growing
stage, the trees are fertilized, sprayed, and carefully nurtured. Most
species are sheared to provide a dense tapered look. Others are scarred at
the trunk to control vertical growth and spacing between swirls of limbs.
Depending on species, 1 to 11/2 years is required per foot of growth.
Prior to harvesting, the trees are graded and tagged, “#1 or better” being
the top grade. Tags used are water proof, plastic streamers that come in
different patterns to indicate species and are color coded to show size.
Harvesting begins the second week of November, peaks the end of November and
ends mid-December. During harvesting, cut trees are transported by
helicopters to a processing yard where they are individually wrapped in
twine (baled). Production efficiencies allow harvested inventory to rotate
on the average every 3 days. Adding 4 days for freight, a typical tree is
cut only 7 days prior to delivery.
