If this is your first time planting trees to harvest years later, it is best to start with a smaller test planting of species that you think you can sell, and see how they do in the first year. Some species may do well in your particular soil and pH and climate and annual rainfall, while others may grow very slowly, struggle or die. Square pegs don’t like round holes. It’s best to lose most of a smaller test planting than to lose most of a larger first planting. And if you have fairly normal growing conditions that year, then mother nature will naturally show you what you can normally or easily grow. Trees which are having difficulty thriving will be A LOT MORE WORK for you.
Best Christmas Tree Species To Farm
These are the typical and most popular Christmas tree species sold in lots and u-cut Christmas tree farms:
Fraser Fir
Balsam Fir
Black Hills Spruce
Colorado Blue Spruce
Douglas Fir
Concolor Fir
White Pine
Our evergreen species “buyers guide” >>
The above list is by no means canonical and does not include species which we do not sell. Keep in mind that occasionally a pest or disease might attack the trees on your property, but quite often will attack just one species while leaving another untouched. A vulnerability in one species may be nonexistent in a different species. So planting multiple species is a hedge against losses years down the road, although it is not futureproof [see Japanese Beetle, Pine beetle, cedar apple rust, Hemlock woolly adelgid, I could talk mycology and invasive pest and disease till the spotted lanternflies come home]
Evergreen Trees Per Acre Chart
Regarding how close to plant them, you need to give each tree enough room that they will not be touching each other all the way through to harvest time. Evergreen trees which grow too closely together will develop voids in their foliage where competition for sunlight makes photosynthesis difficult. Even just physical contact, will cause a tree to back off its growth in that direction. You should also consider the occasional need to drive a truck or a tractor through the area, so planting wide enough to allow equipment through is also important. A good ballpark would be 7-8 feet between each tree and between each row, but perhaps 15 feet between every other row to allow equipment through.