SPECIES.  We have experimented with many species. Below are the successful ones.

• White Spruce: Short needles, strong limbs, pleasant fragrance, color variation.
• Norway Spruce: Short needles, strong limbs, pleasant fragrance.
• Balsam Fir: Short needles, flexible limbs, strongest fragrance.
• Meyer Spruce: Medium-length needles, more prickly, unique color, much like Blue Spruce.

POLLARDING (regrowth from living stumps, after you cut.).

• Makes it easier and more comfortable for you to cut.
• Maintains greenery close to ground for small wildlife habitat. Small birds love to nest in the extra-thick growth on pollard stumps.
• Shades the ground around the stump to minimize weed growth.
• Grows a new tree several years faster than a planted seedling because the stump's roots are established, and the higher pollard tree gets more sunlight.
• Saves us time, effort, and fuel that we'd otherwise use in planting and mowing.
• Provides stump branches that protect the main tree from antler rubbing and Bambi snacking.
• Allows us to replace each tree in a shorter time.
• Allows sunlight to feed the stump limbs while allowing the upper tree to ventilate, which reduces fungus and moss growth.
• Keeps our prices competitive for all the reasons above.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/coppice-farming-grows-christmas-trees-keep-giving-180971068/

https://modernfarmer.com/2022/12/stump-culture-christmas-tree/

WEED, PEST, and DISEASE CONTROL.
Our practices would almost qualify for Certified Organic status. Unlike many big commercial growers, we keep our herbicide use to a minimum - using it only where a weed directly threatens a tree. We do this in spring before flowers come out, so as to protect pollinators. We let milkweeds thrive July -  September to provide sustenance for the Monarch Butterflies. We are now mixing species in the rows to prevent the spread of disease and pests.

SEE PHOTO GALLERIES BELOW.