Grow your own Christmas trees

On the leafy outskirts of Bristol, a family farm has been transformed into a festive woodland wonder, growing Christmas trees but also creating a wildlife habitat.

Simon’s story begins with a decision by his father, Peter, a self-made entrepreneur who spotted a business opportunity. “I played Rodney to his Del Boy and after a few years, we got the Christmas tree business on its feet. We went from selling about 50 trees from the back of a lorry in 1998, to finding homes for about 4000 trees in 2023.” 

© Simon Maughan

Simon and his dad Peter in their first year selling trees, 1998

© Simon Maughan

Simon and his wife Kate planting a native hedgerow, 1999

© Simon Maughan

A winter wonderland at Frenchay Christmas Tree Farm

Wildlife on the farm

The Christmas trees are planted across three fields and surrounded by native hedgerows that Simon and his wife Kate planted in 1999, and are a haven for wildlife. Wildflowers and grasses flourish, and all sorts of fungi grow around old tree roots.

The birds are loving this habitat too, with tree sparrows, cliff chaffs, blue tits, robins, blackbirds, woodpeckers, woodcocks and owls all making their home on the farm. Buzzards routinely patrol the area for smaller rodents, which make their homes in the long grass and under the trees.

Tree types 

On Simon’s farm they grow mostly fir trees, the most popular is the Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana), but they also grow Fraser fir (A. fraseri) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). These trees have a long shelf life, and their soft, deep green needles tend to stay on the tree, rather than drop all over floor once the tree begins to dry out. They also grow a number of spruce: Norwegian (Picea abies), Serbian (P. omorika AGM) and Blue (Picea pungens Glauca Group).  

When planting, the correct spacing is 1.2m apart. Simon says that in the USA, some farmers, with more land to spare, might increase this to 1.5m or more, but you really need to pack them in to make use of the available land.

I’m a gardener at heart, and for me the farm is like a large wild garden. It’s a lot of land to look after, and a lot of trees, but I love it.

Clipped to perfection 

On Simon’s arboretum of Christmas trees, each tree is clipped and shaped over a six- to eight-year cycle, until they form the perfect church-spire shape.  The trees take about six to eight years to grow to a saleable size. “We buy them in as young plants from specialist nurseries when they are already three years old. The Danish specialise in Christmas tree seedlings, especially Nordmann Fir.” Simon says the Danish government have invested in the industry, and as a result the best trees are coming from their nurseries. Until recently, all Christmas tree seeds were sourced from wild populations, but the Danish now have their own seed orchards, and they select only the best trees, so the stock is always improving. 

It’s quite an art form to get that perfect look, which many of us may take for granted. “It has taken all my years as a grower to get good at what I do. I clip the trees, and I watch them respond. They don’t always do what they are supposed to do, leaving us with some very oddly shaped trees. Over the years I have tried all sorts of different pruning techniques, but I find that a gentle clipping every year with a pair of shears is all that is needed.” 

© Simon Maughan

Wonky trees look just as beautiful

As Christmas approaches 

A real Christmas tree is always the best Christmas tree, because it’s a natural product that – at the end of the day – will rot away and return to the soil from whence it came, leaving no pollution, microplastics or residues in its wake.

Tips for cut tree care 

• If you’re buying a spruce tree, ensure it is freshly cut. A few years ago, BBC Gardeners World did an experiment and found that a spruce tree will keep its needles for about three weeks from the day it is cut, and feedback from Simon’s customers confirms this, especially if the trees are watered at the base as if they were cut flowers

• Fir trees should not drop their needles even when they are dead (well, they might drop a few), but even after three weeks in a warm living room they will begin to look a bit dried out. Research by the British Christmas Tree Growers Association suggests that it is not necessary to water fir trees

• ​Don’t buy too early. Christmas trees are living things, but slowly deteriorate after they are cut. You wouldn’t buy Valentine’s Day flowers on 25 January

• Try to buy locally grown trees. These are likely to have been cut recently so will be fresh, and have fewer road miles

As the season ends 

On the Christmas tree farm, the season is practically over by mid-December, although they remain open for customers who traditionally buy their tree the week before Christmas. “It’s best for the tree to be bought as late as possible, but there isn’t usually a lot of choice left by then, so it’s a quiet week. We have a bit more time with the customers to find their tree though and we enjoy the change of pace. We light the fire pit to keep warm and start to clear up the tree debris that is left all over the farm, putting it in piles ready for the chipper in the new year.” 

© Simon Maughan

The team at Frenchay Christmas tree farm, near Bristol

Recycling your Christmas tree 

A new service they offer on Simon’s farm near Bristol is to collect Christmas trees in January, bringing them back to the farm for recycling. A local charity also does this, and they raise quite a lot of money in the process. “We end up with a mountain of returned trees, and ultimately a lot of wood chip!” This is by far the most environmentally friendly way of disposing of your Christmas tree, aside from chopping it up at home and either putting it in your green bin or letting it rot down naturally in a log pile.