What it takes to grow evergreens

Growing the perfect evergreen takes skill and a little experimentation. Loren Kruse is a tree farmer in Grundy Center, Iowa. He's been growing evergreen trees since 1981 and first harvested them in 1988. He spends all of July preparing his trees for the annual Christmas shopping season when customers come to his farm looking for the perfect tree.

Kruse grows a lot of the basic Scotch pine on his farm, but also grows some white pine, Canaan fir, Colorado blue spruce, and the Concolor fir. He also likes experimenting with the exotic trees, like the Korean fir and the Siberian fir.

Some basic preparations for growing good, healthy trees include first killing all the grass is the general area where you're going to grow the trees. Then plant seedlings that range in size from 6 to 8 inches tall for a good start. The preferred time to do this is in April. It will take an average of seven years for an evergreen to grow to 6 feet tall.

The better the soil, the faster the trees will grow, says Kruse, and the more you will have to trim them. He has never had any problems with tree diseases on his farm, but he says that is either luck or the location of his farm. If you plan on growing trees you should stay away from dense forest. Trees can spread diseases like humans, so it is better to stay away from forest for a better growth in your trees.

Kruse says that the best thing about spending the long hours pruning and preparing the trees for purchase is when he sees all the families coming out and making memories when they pick out their tree. He likes the passion in it and the fun they have trying to find the perfect tree, and he plans on staying in the business for a long time.