- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Most real Christmas trees sold in California are raised on farms, creating jobs and boosting the economies in rural areas.
That's just one reason UC Cooperative Extension advisor Lynn Wunderlich encourages the use of fresh-cut Christmas trees during the holiday season.
"This is an age-old debate," Wunderlich said. The American Christmas Tree Association says that PVC used in artificial trees is recyclable. If a household decorates with the same artificial tree for at least four years, the carbon footprint will be...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California Christmas tree growers who have planted Nordmann or Turkish fir on their farms should be watchful for a new pest that recently made its way to the United States, said Lynn Wunderlich, UC Cooperative Extension advisor who works with Christmas tree growers in the Central Sierra.
Some research plantings of Nordmann fir at Washington State University and one Washington farmer's field have been invaded by an adelgid that appears to be closely related to silver fir woolly adelgids, a common pest on Nordmann fir in Europe. Adelgids (pronounced uh-DEL-gids) are certain types of aphids that feed on conifers.
“Fortunately, adelgids attacking Nordmann fir haven't been...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, Susie Kocher bundles up her children, gathers the extended family and hikes into the Lake Tahoe Basin forest to find a Christmas tree.
“It’s my favorite part of the season,” Kocher said. “Having the fresh, living thing in the house really symbolizes the holiday. You can’t do it with a fake tree.”
Kocher, a forester and the natural resources advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in the Central Sierra, lives and works in Lake Tahoe. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management District is one of nine national forests in California, all...