You are very kind. I have my moments and at times I can be really mean and nasty if someone pushes me too far or does something to any of my kids. I am one mean old Mother then.

I think most of us are like that if someone threatens our kids! I also agree that kids are a lot different now.

Saw my first Douglas Fir starting to break through the soil in the planting cone yesterday. Hopefully, it is the first of many. It is just a speck so far, about 1/8 of an inch if even that big. This is exciting.

It certainly is exciting. You have a wonderful long life watching that baby grown. Enjoy each tiny inch it grows. It would be fun to keep a journal of the growth of that cone.

I didn't realize it until I read it on the internet that the seedlings most Christmas Tree Farms plant are already 2-3 years old or older.

I sent a long message and the screen flipped and the message went away. I do not have time to reply now. Will try and get back to you tomorrow. I wanted to tell you about the trees size we buy, etc.

Three more Douglas Firs have started to break ground. Still no Balsam or Fraser Fir yet.

Good for you! This is exciting. I can't wait to see if the Frazer grows. They are so beautiful.

Yup, the Frasers are my favorite of the three. Seven Green Douglas have broken ground. Still no Frasers or Balsams. I hope I stratified them long enough...two months, but I also read it can take up to three months for them to germinate.

Wondering what you use to remove the stumps from the cut trees?? Doesn't it leave a large hole?

minny67 said: Wondering what you use to remove the stumps from the cut trees?? Doesn't it leave a large hole?

We use a back hoe and when the stumps are removed to the truck that takes them away, someone rakes the spot where the stump was. The stumps have no soil on them when we remove them from the field.

Thanks for sharing!
I work at a Christmas tree farm in northern Illinois. The soil is rocky with a lot of clay and we have some 15'-20' trees, so I'm not sure digging the stumps would work here-but will convince the boss to give it a try. It sure would make planting a lot easier!

@minny67! Do they leave the stumps where you work? That would make it really hard.

Thanks for the welcome!
We leave the stumps until we decide an area should be cleared of all trees, and replanted. Pretty common for this area of the country.
When an area is going to be cleared, we cut any remaining trees, then use a skid loader and dig out all the stumps/roots. After they are removed we plow the area, before replanting.
We do grind the stumps every spring to speed up the rotting process, and make mowing a little easier.
A lot of the time we will plant a new tree close to a tree that is big enough to sell, so theoretically when the larger one gets cut/sold the newly planted one will have plenty of room to grow, and the stump from the cut tree will rot while the little guy grows.
We also plant beside or between stumps whenever possible.
We've always looking for a better way of doing things.

Still only 1 Fraser and 6 Balsams, but 24 Green Douglas Firs.

minny67 said: Thanks for sharing!
I work at a Christmas tree farm in northern Illinois. The soil is rocky with a lot of clay and we have some 15'-20' trees, so I'm not sure digging the stumps would work here-but will convince the boss to give it a try. It sure would make planting a lot easier!

I can not imagine planting trees with stumps in the ground. Also, we keep our grass between the rows mowed constantly and eventually if we left the stumps in there would be no room for grass between the rows. Those roots take awhile to decay.

What is his reasoning for leaving them in? It is extra work but to us it is an absolute necessity. You grow much bigger trees and no doubt have much more land to work with than we do. I am sure he knows what he is doing. I would like to know why he does not remove them.

We do grind the stumps down to ground level, so mowing isn't an issue-like you, we don't let the grass/weeds run rampant. The big trees get mowed several times over the summer, the little trees get mowed once a month or more if we've had lots of rain.
There are approximately 50 acres of trees-so it's a lot of mowing!
I think one of the big factors is that we plant our seedlings directly in the field-we don't have an area for babies that will get transplanted later. I think that may be why you can dig the stumps more easily (that and your sandy soil). I'm guessing our trees have more/deeper roots than yours?
We plant 1500-2500 seedlings each year-so transplanting would be a huge job.
When we clear an area with the skid loader it looks like a mine field-huge holes left where the stumps were-the clay sticks to the roots like glue. When the stumps are gone, we till the area several times, then run a drag over it to hopefully get things leveled back out.
In the fields there are spots that it would be impossible to get the skid loader into without damaging the surrounding trees, maybe the longer reach of a backhoe would make a difference?
We would love to be able to remove all the stumps each year-we just haven't found an effective way to do it, especially with the larger trees/bigger stumps.

Our place is so small that our trees are sold before they get to 10 feet with the exception of a few. We sold the first tree we planted two years ago and it took 6 guys to cut it and load it on to a trailer. The people sent me pictures of them trying to get it into their house. It was hysterical. If I can find them I will share it with you.








These people were a fun family to deal with. The man kept watching that tree for years when he would go by the farm. He lives in North Jersey and is a good hour or more away. One day he came in and ask me if I would sell it . I said Sure....why not?
He was so happy and took pictures and sent them to us. Love when people are happy.

Amazing tree!

Gorgeous tree! That's so nice when people send you photos.