The Real Christmas Tree Board

Climate change is predicted to have significant effects on our forests, including changes to which species and ‘genetic varieties’ (genotypes) that will do best under a warming climate. Balsam fir, the backbone species for the Christmas tree and greenery industries in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, is no exception. Among the changes to our climate, warmer falls, and severe late spring ‘freeze’ events are both affecting Christmas tree producers in the northeast. Warmer fall weather is delaying the time at which trees become winter hardy, which in turn affects how well Christmas trees will retain their needles after harvest. This problem occurs in both plantations and wild stands. Late spring freeze events have caused severe damage in many plantations and wild stands. Between 2021 and 2023 the RCTB helped support a project to identify and test balsam fir trees that flush late in the spring (reduce late spring frost damage) and that retain their needles well when collected early in the fall. These trees once identified and properly tested can form the foundation for the next generation of Christmas trees in the northeast. This project is truly a cooperative venture with partners in three eastern Canadian provinces. The early results are promising and the project is expanding to include partners from three northeastern states (Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont) plus additional Canadian and US researchers.