Have a Tree-mendous Holiday!
The Christmas holiday is just days away. Are you ready?
In the past, we have covered poinsettia trivia in this column so this year I thought I might spread a little holiday cheer and talk about another holiday “plant” the Christmas tree.
While the Christmas tree is not your traditional greenhouse product, this is a good week take a look at some interesting facts and figures about Christmas trees that you may want to impress your friends and relatives with during the holiday season.
Did you know the tallest cut Christmas tree on record stood 221 feet tall? The Douglas fir was decorated and put on display in 1950 at a shopping center in Seattle, Washington.
Did you know that the first Christmas tree ornaments were apples? During the Middle Ages, Medieval actors decorated trees with apples during “Paradise Plays.”
Did you know the average age of a Christmas is 15 years old when it is sold?
Did you know that, on average, a Christmas tree grower will plant three new trees for every one tree harvested? In 2012, more than 46 million Christmas tree seedlings were planted adding to the existing 400 million trees.
Did you know that Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington, New York, and Virginia are the top Christmas tree producing states and more than 100,000 people are employed full or part-time in the Christmas tree industry?
There’s a few conversation-starters for you if you are looking for more holiday facts for your get-togethers in the coming days, check out the University of Illinois Extension’s website or this factretriever.com page.
And if you are looking for a refresher on poinsettia trivia, check out this quiz on the HGTV Gardens website.
Happy holidays from all of us at GPN!
Video Library 
