Why is Connecticut #1 in white spruce Christmas trees?
Connecticut is a small state full of towns and cities. Yet in USDA's latest count, its growers took in more money from white spruce Christmas trees than any other state's. USDA does not say why. The background runs through farms that turned back into forest, a forester who planted Christmas trees in an open pasture, and tree farms where people cut their own.
In USDA's 2024 count, Connecticut's growers took in more money from white spruce Christmas trees than any other state's. Check the ranking in the quiz below. The white spruce is only one kind of Christmas tree, and this ranking counts dollars, not trees. The tree itself, with its nicknames and its smell, has its own note too.
Basis: USDA NASS Quick Stats, CUT CHRISTMAS TREES, SPRUCE, WHITE - SALES, MEASURED IN $, 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties (only states with published figures). The numbers, the full ranking and the source are on the quiz page.
Long ago, Connecticut was mostly forest. By the early 1800s, farms were spreading fast, and so much forest had been cleared that only a small part of the state was still wooded. Then things turned around. In 1830 the Erie Canal opened, and within twenty years Connecticut's small, stony farms could not keep up with bigger farms farther west. Many hillside farms were abandoned (left behind), and forests began to come back. In the old fields, wildflowers came first. Then trees that like open, grassy places moved in, white pine first of all.
Who says so: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (Forest Action Plan) (opens in a new tab)
One of the state's earliest conservationists, James L. Goodwin, studied at the Yale School of Forestry. In 1913 he bought land in Hampton, Connecticut: some white pine and an open field. His first crop was Christmas trees, which he planted in 1921, and he sold a crop every year from 1924 until 1964. He tried red pines, spruces and white pines, and his “Pine Acres Farm” grew to about two thousand acres. In 1964 he gave this forest to the state. Today it is the James L. Goodwin State Forest, with a center where visitors can learn about forestry.
Who says so: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (James L. Goodwin State Forest) (opens in a new tab)
A history of forestry in Connecticut, published by the state's Agricultural Experiment Station, calls Goodwin a pioneer in the raising and marketing of Christmas trees. It also records that in 1943 his farm planted young white spruce trees for Christmas trees “in the open pasture near the sawmill” (a pasture is a field where animals eat grass).
What about today? A University of Connecticut Extension tree expert says people in Connecticut will not find a wild Christmas tree in the woods the way they might in Vermont or Maine. All the cut-your-own Christmas trees in the state are farm-grown, at Christmas tree plantations. Which kinds a farm grows mostly depends on which trees do well in that farm's soil. UConn experts add that spruces naturally grow in climates like Connecticut's, while firs prefer colder places higher up.
Who says so: University of Connecticut (UConn Today, College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources) (opens in a new tab)
Christmas trees take years to grow, and young seedlings are usually the ones most at risk from extreme weather. NOAA's climate data center expects a warmer climate to change how Christmas trees are grown, for example through more extreme weather, growing zones that could shift, and more pests and diseases. It says farmers might have to consider moving their farms farther north or higher up, to places with the cool climate their trees like best. Scientists at North Carolina State University are studying Fraser firs, another kind of Christmas tree, hoping to develop trees that could better handle extreme weather.
Who says so: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (opens in a new tab)
Note: a “theory”, “folklore” or “outlook” is not settled fact. Always check who is saying it.
📊 Sources for the rankings mentioned in this note (links to the original data and retrieval dates) are on each quiz page below.