What's Blooming: Harvesting Your Own Christmas Tree

Harvesting Your Own Christmas Tree

By Jessica Clarke, Horticulturist

It’s the holidays, and no matter what you celebrate this time of year, seeing the trees glowing around town brings warm cozy feelings during this dark season. To bring that feeling home, many people have been going back to the traditional live tree and even going so far as cutting down their own tree. Fortunately for the adventurous type in Colorado, there is easy access if you want to harvest your own Christmas tree. With a permit through the local Forest Service, individuals are allowed to harvest a tree on Forest Service land. 

Here are a couple of factors you will want to consider:

Even though most of us in Colorado live at or above 5,000 feet in elevation you will still have to go higher up in elevation to use your permit. This elevation in the wintertime will be cold and, hopefully, have a good snowpack. Be prepared for winter driving, the roads can be snow-packed, icy, and sometimes muddy. Bring proper winter gear, you could be hiking in knee-high snow for that perfect tree.  

You can purchase a map of the forest you are going to through the Forest Service when you buy your permit, or you can download Forest Services maps to your phone. Pay attention to which area you are in on the maps. Places marked for wilderness are under restoration; harvesting in such areas is prohibited.   Whichever one you choose, keep in mind there is still little to no internet connection in the mountains. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a chainsaw to harvest a tree. A Silky saw works wonderfully and is easy to pack in. If I haven’t scared you away yet, it’s time to make the most important decision on your journey, which tree to pick?  

If you are willing to go up higher in elevation Colorado has a good variety of evergreens that make beautiful Christmas trees. Picea engelmannii, or Engelmann spruce, is a native tree that can be found between 8,000 to 11,000 feet in elevation on northern slopes. It will most likely be growing amongst the Abies lasiocarpa and other conifers. They possess unique characteristics such as flaky, scaly bark that can be reddish to gray-brown, the needles are sharp-pointed, and are a deep blue-green with white lines. When the needles are crushed, they give off a skunk-like odor. If you find that the Engelmann spruce is not your tree, you are in luck. As stated above, Abies lasiocarpa, another great indoor tree can be found among Engelmann spruce.  

Englemann spruce needles

Abies lasiocarpa, or subalpine fir needles are soft to the touch and have a distinct upward curve that are at right angles. They have silvery lines on both sides and their lovely blue-green color makes them a great pick for a holiday centerpiece. Subalpine fir’s bark is smooth and greyish-white with dots. Their best feature of all, the subalpine fir smells exactly like a Christmas tree!     

subalpine fir

If you are looking to be a little eccentric and don’t want to go with the traditional Christmas tree, Pinus contorta is easy to find and harvest. You can find lodgepole pine at a little lower elevation, they range from 6,000 to 11,000. Their branches are sparse, with long yellow to dark green needles, and the trunk is light brown with small scales. They can be found within conifer stands at higher elevations or in solitary clusters at lower elevations.

lodgepole pine needles

No matter which tree you choose to go with you will have plenty to pick from. Many tree stands in our forest have a variety of trees. You could even leave the traditional norm and use a juniper for your tree. They have a perfect Christmas tree shape and smell lovely. If the weather allows, you can turn your Christmas tree hunt into a picnic with some hot chocolate and cookies. Just remember to dress appropriately and have your maps ready for your Colorado adventure.