Growing Christmas trees to sell or in the true, festive spirit of Christmas, give away to friends.

Norway spruce (picea abies) is the most well-known of all Christmas tree varieties. It has become less popular in recent years due to its lesser ability to retain its needles. Other Christmas tree species, which we stock, such as Nordmann Fir, Fraser Fir, Noble Fir, Scots pine and Colorado Blue Spruce, are more needle-fast, so would perhaps be more reliable.

Our recommendation would be that you planted at least three species, including a small percentage of Norway spruce. We suggest that Norway spruce is grown in a container in the ground 'pot-grown' so that when the time comes for lifting and sale its root system remains intact and provided it is well-watered in the house will not shed its leaves to the same extent.

Growing in the field is fine as you would know how long it was from cutting to going up in the house. On this subject, large, commercial Christmas tree growers cut trees weeks before Christmas, to meet demand and we wonder what 'freshly-cut Christmas trees' really mean!

Commonly, as with other Christmas tree species, Norway spruce is planted at a spacing of 1metre (3ft) between each tree, thus meaning that to plant an area of 1 hectare (2.47 acres) 10000 trees would be required. Having established Christmas tree plantations, some important tips are that as there are many different Christmas tree species, it is best not to mix species. This is because grow rates differ. Therefore, create small areas of a unique or pure species.

The intial spacing of 1m generally means that when sales begin it is wise to remove the smaller Christmas trees so that space and light is created for the growing crop. Further details can be found by looking at the British Christmas Trees Growers Association website www.christmastree.org.uk.

Our Norway srpuce Christmas trees are sold as plug plants, in other words the roots are encased in compost. This means that planting can be carried out at any time of the year, provided they are watered in periods of drought, compared to bare-root plants which can only be planted during the plants normal dormant period (November to March) and secondly plug plants have a higher survival rate than bare-root plants.

Trees-Online are not just a leading supplier of ornamental trees, fruit trees, hedging trees, shrubs and tree accessories, but also have the back-up of knowledgeable staff who are at the end of the phone or email to answer your questions. We can answer any question on Christmas trees, but similarly can advise you on how to guard trees against deer and rabbits, advise you to create a fruit orchard or how to select a suitable tree or trees for a wet area.