TREES, PLEASE! Christmas In July
- k-england
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
By Tim Clancy, for Let’s Talk Plants! July 2025.
Christmas in July
It’s just about this time of the year (July) that many people (far more organized than me) start talking about Christmas shopping and getting ahead of the game so to speak. One thing you shouldn’t buy in July for Christmas is a cut Christmas tree. This is better done closer to Christmas.
About 60 years ago, around Christmas time, I remember going with my dad and little brother to a Christmas tree farm near Syracuse, New York. This was a cut-your-own-tree business, so we (my father) chose a tree and got to work. I can still recall the smells of the evergreen foliage and fresh cut tree parts. It’s no wonder we use pine air fresheners for our cars and Pine Sol cleaner around the house. The smells are great!
Winter is typically cold and snowy in upstate New York, so we were always bundled up in warm clothes including home-made mittens! Then there were the inevitable snow fights between the three of us.
We tied the tree to the roof of our red Renault Dauphine and made our way home. This was a tradition of sorts for about five years, after which we purchased our trees from Christmas Tree lots operated by the Salvation Army. (My father’s favorite charity.)
According to an article on socalfieldtrips.com there are more than twenty places in Southern California ranging from Santa Barbara to San Diego where you can cut your own tree for the holidays. San Diego lists two businesses, one in El Cajon and the other in Ramona.
(Note: LTP! newsletter editor Karen England visited one such SD Christmas tree farm and wrote about it here:
If you are looking for a “true” Christmas tree experience, there is another option. You can purchase a permit from the United States government for permission to enter a national forest and cut your own Christmas tree! These are trees that have developed and grown under natural conditions. They will be very much individuals, each with its own quirkiness. Plantation grown trees are nice and all, with their cookie cutter trims, regulated size and color, but I prefer a unique individual if the option is available.
Here are guidelines from the recreation.gov website:
Selecting Your Tree
Each forest has limitations on the size of the tree you can cut and the species of trees that are permitted. See below to help you measure and choose a tree that meets your permit's guidelines.
Stump height: 12 inches maximum.
Stump diameter: 6 inches maximum at ground level.
All conifer species are allowed, except for giant sequoia.
Take the whole tree. Do not remove the top of the tree; cut down the entire tree and remove it.
If snow is on the ground, remove it from around the stump so you can accurately measure the stump and tree height.
Cutting your own tree, whether you make a trek to a national forest or a local business, is an opportunity to create a wonderful holiday tradition with family and friends for years to come.
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