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                                CHRISTMAS TREES IN NOVA SCOTIA

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                         

Text Box: Balsam Fir Tree Facts Unique aroma that no other species has (aroma of Christmas).   Excellent post harvest needle retention qualities.   Natural regenerated species grown in its natural environment.   Cultivated in harmony with nature and with minimal disturbance to soil structure and ground cover.   High degree of manual labor provides maximum employment benefits for rural communities.   Better able to meet consumer demands because natural stands produce the greatest degree of variation in size, density, form, taper and color.   Good branch support and unique form support wide variety of decorating options.   Nova Scotia balsam fir grown in natural stands can rely on natural insect and disease control. Pesticide use is then minimal.   Well developed harvesting infrastructure and proximity to markets insures a fresh product and timely deliveries. Text Box: Life, as we know it, developed over the ages as tree species we are now familiar with took hold from the dusky mirth's of time. The little pesky bush as it was first known to the earlier settlers from Europe was a hindrance. It kept appearing, as the great forests were removed, to provide settlements with warmth and a developing forest industry. Balsam Fir has been growing in Nova Scotia for many years. New immigrants in the present day Lunenburg area may have brought these fir bushes into their homes as was the custom that had developed in central Europe, among French and various German principalities. Later, this same custom was brought to Nova Scotia with the German troops who were employed by the British Crown and garrisoned in Halifax, the newly minted capital of Nova Scotia. We definitely know that Barbara Pryor, the wife of William Pryor  a wealthy merchant on Coburg Road in Halifax, in 1846 lit candles on the first recorded Christmas Tree in Nova Scotia. A fashion, a tradition, was well on its way. The Balsam Christmas Tree Industry has never looked back. One of the drawbacks to the early development of Nova Scotia was her sparse population. While the other settlements in North America especially along the Eastern Seaboard in the United States grew in population and strengthened their economies, Nova Scotia stayed basically stagnant in growth. This would later become the driving force in the growth of the Nova Scotia Christmas Tree Industry. Thousands of homes in the United States our neighbor to the south would need Christmas Trees to celebrate the Christmas Holiday Season. The lowly Nova Scotia Balsam Fir was waiting. Though today the Nova Scotia Christmas Tree Industry includes many other species. Balsam Fir is still King with 99.9 % of the total market. The Nova Scotia Christmas tree industry maintains a strong presence here at home and is exported world wide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHRISTMAS TREE INDUSTRY FACTS

2500 Small to large Christmas tree growers. 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) grown in Nova Scotia
400 full time and 2000 part time jobs. 1.5 to 2.0 million Christmas trees harvested annually.
500,000 wreaths plus other greenery made.

Annual sales of around $30,000,000. Most of which is new money brought into the province

80% exported to the United States of America

 

 

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