Christmas Tree Farm

[Out On A Limb]

I have 83 acres in Osceola county, about half of which is wooded.  I am considering leasing out about 25 acres to anyone interested in starting their own business/hobby; Christmas tree farming.  I'm not even sure if anyone leases property for this purpose.  Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

[Jeff]

I would have to think that the profit margin for raising Christmas trees could never survive the included costs of a land lease for 12 to 15 years.

I would think your best source for information on this would come from contacting the Michigan Christmas Tree Association

http://www.mcta.org/

Marsha Gray
Executive Director/Editor

PO Box 377
Howell, MI 48844-0377
1-800-589-TREE
FAX 517 545-4501
marsha@mcta.org

[Don P]

One of our local greenery companies here in VA will plant pines on your land in exchange for tipping rights for several years, just another thought  ???.

[Ernie]

In NZ we dont tip.  You pay your bill at the restaurant and that's it.  Tipping rights here wouldn't make them much :D :D :D :D

[Jeff]

Out On A Limb, just in case "tipping" is an unfamiliar term, it is the operation of "tipping" or "removing" growth from the ends of evergreen branches for  use in Wreath making.

[DanG]

Which limb are you out on?  There is also an Osceola County in Florida.  That would make a huge difference in your planning.

[Timburr]

Glad you clarified that Jeff, I thought Don P was on about rubbish (garbage) tipping ??? :D

[Out On A Limb]

Thanks for the input.

In regards to "tipping", doesn't that harm the tree??

[Don P]

From what I can tell, tipping doesn't seem to harm the tree. From what I understand you can safely remove up to about a third of the crown in pruning, tipping or shearing without slowing the tree down appreciably. Remember Christmas trees get heavily sheared, and I have been slowly making my way through the pines in the front yard limbing them up to make clear timber in the butt log, whenever they get used. Those trees interestingly enough were a cut over Christmas tree plot. Some of the stumps resprouted, by the time we bought the place they were small trees. A couple of locals were tipping them at that point...sort of a free-lance type of activity that goes on on vacant land here sometimes. I let one of them tip for a couple more years. The trees are about 35 now and looking pretty good.  I just brought it up as another option if you want timber on that land in the future. For our locals, the planting becomes free, and you do end up with the timber down the road.

[Ernie]

I was just wondering, how many years does it take to grow a good Christmas tree up in your neck of the woods?

[maple flats]

In upstate NY it takes about 10-14 years for many species on marginal soil and little or no cultivation. If you plant on good soil, do the trimming, fertilizing, spraying, mowing etc, etc, etc you can reduce that to 7-10 years with much higher value trees to sell.   8) 8)

[Ernie]

What sort of stocking rates, what kind of trees, pruning,  fertilizer returns etc etc etc

[Phorester]

My wife and I have leased land for almost 25 years for Christmas Trees.  It does indeed pay, but only if you do it right.  Proper site selection, which means the proper soil to grow the species you want to sell, proper planting preperation, proper vegetation control, proper shearing techniques, proper and timely marketing efforts, proper insect and disease control, etc., etc., etc.

Christmas trees are a lot of work, both physically and mentally.  But it is worth it.

So, since you will be  leasing the land to a grower, I think the key is to find somebody who knows what they are doing. All you have to do is sit back and collect the rent!  Doesn't sound bad to me.

[SwampDonkey]

You folks must live in a unique situation because it wouldn't take long to count the rent money on land that's rented in my area. About $50/acre per year  is the going rate on good farmland. I'm surrounded by the stuff. My cousin grows christmas trees and produces maple syrup. He makes a living at it with a family of 4.