Christmas trees have a distinctive shape — perfect for decorating with tree ornaments and lights, easy to turn into kindergarten craft projects. Unlike deciduous trees that lose their leaves in fall, the evergreens we use for holiday decorating — pines, spruces, firs and others — keep their needles and tend to grow in a pyramid shape.
How and why do Christmas trees get this look?
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Coniferous trees evolved to survive in cold climates. Their shape has evolved in response to wind, snow and light.
They have a few advantages over deciduous trees:
Deciduous trees, with long branches and a round, heavy crown, don’t grow well in cold climates and further north. The shape of conifers is much better adapted to windy or barren landscapes
The shape of pine and coniferous trees is made to maximize sun exposure for the tree, especially in regions of limited sunlight. Top branches don’t block light from the bottom branches. This helps both window pass through and sun come in, especially during seasons of low light. No Christmas lights needed in nature!
Evergreen trees’ pyramidal shape also helps to keep heavy, wet snow off the upper branches. Unlike deciduous trees, which can often lose branches under the weight of snow or ice during winter storms, evergreens usually weather these conditions well.
Conifers have shallower roots than deciduous trees. Long and sturdy roots help keep deciduous trees standing during storms. But with coniferous trees, the needle shape and the triangular shape of the tree helps provide greater wind resistance, helping trees keep standing during windy weather
Actually, only a handful of the world’s 630 coniferous tree species have this distinctive shape naturally. Those trees are mainly spruces and firs.
Pine trees often start out with a cone shape as seedlings, but become rounded or irregular as they get taller. It takes dedication from Christmas tree growers to prune pines into the shape we’re familiar with on tree lots in December.
The shape we recognize as a Christmas tree comes from northern European holiday traditions.
Northern European evergreen trees are most likely to grow in a cone shape. This is in part due to the reduced hours of light in wintertime, as well as the sun hitting the ground at a lower angle than here in North America, closer to the equator. The distribution of branches helps ensure that the limited sunlight can reach all parts of the tree.
Christmas tree growers work to prune trees into cone shapes to sell to holidaymakers on tree lots. Once a tree reaches a height of around 1 metre, the branches are trimmed after the spring to direct growth into a pyramidal shape. This continues until the tree reaches about 6-8 years old, at which time it may be headed for your home. Whether in your living room or your yard, evergreen trees can provide a beautiful, festive look to the season and all winter long. If you’re looking for some real-life Christmas tree pruning on your property, contact Vista Tree today to find out more about how to keep your evergreens healthy!
Vista Tree is proud to sponsor this Earth Day fundraising film event for @tourbangrowers , a group advocating for urban agriculture and food security in the city! We’re delighted to be on this list with some other great East Toronto businesses and organizations like @crookedfarmz compost tea and @nfftt Not Far From the Tree. Get your tickets for April 23 at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/kiss-the-ground-tickets-540610650007
#toronto #torontoarborist #earthday #urbanagriculture #vistatreemanagement
We have a new website! Check out our redesign at https://www.vistatree.ca
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Digging out after the storm and worried about your trees? Here’s what you need to know about ice storm tree damage: https://vistatree.ca/ice-storm-tree-damage/
#torontoarborist #treedamage #stormdamage #torontotreeservices #vistatreemanagement #icestorm
Can you do tree work in the winter! Yes, you can (and we can!)! Read our latest blog post to learn more about what types of tree work can happen in winter weather and how you can get ahead by hiring an arborist in the winter:
https://vistatree.ca/why-choose-winter-tree-work/
#torontotreeservices #torontoarborist #wintertreework #pruning #winterpruning
We`re hiring for an Arborist Crew Lead ($36-$47.50/hr plus extras), Arborist Climber ($27-$34/hr) and Arborist Apprentices ($24-$28/hr) for the 2023 Season! Come join our growing team in the new year. We`re a family-friendly, living wage employer with the best benefits in the GTA. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, international applications accepted until January 5 2023 for Crew Lead and Climber positions.
Check out the positions at:
https://vistatree.ca/why-vista-toronto-tree-care/careers/
or
www.canadianarboristjobs.com
#arborist #treecare #treecareindustry #arboriculture #treeremoval #ontario #toronto #scarborough #jobs #livingwage
Beware tree hazards during the storm! We are taking emergency calls already. This tree broke at the trunk this morning on to the homeowners bedroom, it’s about 24in diameter at the break and 40ft long over two houses. Do not approach fallen trees or trees on wires, call a professional arborist for everyone’s safety. You can reach us for emergency calls at 416-624-0770 or 416-757-0505.
#tostorm #onstorm #emergency #arborist #trees #toronto #scarborough #etobicoke #northyork
Some tight rigging on this spreading multi-stem oak! Extensive dieback throughout the canopy unfortunately condemned this tree in a cluster of dozens of oaks in Etobicoke.
#treeremoval #toronto #arborist #treework
Fallen tree on a house and another set to fail at any moment. We were down by the lakeshore today plucking this tree off the roof and removing the other beside it - both stone dead ash. #treeremoval #hazard #toronto #mississauga #stormdamage #arbirist #treecare
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