Fake or real? That's the question and Yorkshire Christmas tree growers have their answer

Yorkshire has 19 growers registered with the BCTGA ranging from small scale growers who have a few thousand trees to Stockeld Park where around half a million Christmas Trees are grown.

And then there are even smaller growers, such as Sara Tomkins who started her innovative Christmas tree rental company Rooted (www.rooted-christmastrees.com) on two acres at her home in Todmorden three years ago. She has around 600 Norway Spruce growing in pots in the ground. She digs up and ‘rents’ out around 200 every year to people in the local community who can then return them for Sara to replant and look after ready for them to dig it up and take home the following Christmas.

“I wanted to provide a sustainable solution that gives you a beautiful smelling pine Christmas tree in your home for the festive period, without the waste and carbon impact of cut trees,” explains Sara.

“I love trees and wanted to support trees to do their thing of absorbing water and CO2 and giving us back cleaner air year after year. Christmas is a funny time when carbon footprint and the planet seems to go out of the window and I just thought there must be a better way."She says she has families who have been with her since she started renting the same tree every year. “They even give their trees names and the whole family comes each year to help dig it up.” Prices start from £40 for a three to four foot tree plus a £15 deposit to ensure people return their trees in a fit state to be replanted. To keep down her carbon footprint Sara offers a click and collect and drop off service to Hebden and Todmorden markets and she has had enquiries from other people wanting to start up a similar business. And once the trees outgrow their pots (10 to 12 years or so), Sara donates them to the charity ‘Slow the Flow’ who support tree planting across the Calder Valley as part of natural flood management.

Other Yorkshire Christmas Tree growers say they have seen a growth in demand for ‘living’ Christmas trees.

Whiteley’s have been growing Christmas trees for more than 25 years at their Farm shop and Nursery in Pudsey, along with other crops such as forced rhubarb and pumpkins, at other times of the year.

"We have families who have been coming to buy their Christmas trees from us since they were children themselves,” says Vicky Whiteley, who runs the business with husband Bryn. “They like to make a day of it, they come down, choose the tree and we photograph them sometimes holding the chain saw – but obviously they can’t actually fell the tree themselves. Then they can help pull it through the netter before taking ithome – it’s what Christmas is all about.

After Christmas the trees are chopped up and used for mulch to put back into the soil. While the cost of living will definitely have an impact on people’s Christmas, Vicky believes they will still want real Christmas trees.

"Some people may see it as an extravagance but what is Christmas without a tree to put your presents round? They may buy a smaller one and we have seen an increase in people wanting living potted Christmas trees that they can plant in their garden and dig up year after year at Christmas.” She says they do take more looking after than people think though. “People don’t realise that they need watering all year round, even when it rains as the branches act like an umbrella. They also may need repotting from time to time.”And George Grant, estate manager at Stockeld Park (stockeldpark.co.uk), one of England's oldest and largest growers of real Christmas Trees, says people often under estimate what goes into growing and sustaining a Christmas Tree.

"They need pruning and feeding and watering. Also people can underestimate how much they will grow – you might buy a five foot potted Christmas Tree but it will grow a foot a year and end up bigger than you can deal with.

There are around half a million Christmas Trees grown at Stockeld and every Christmas they sell around 35,000 trees. The main variety is the popular Nordman Fir that is softer an retains its needles longer, although they also grow Norway Spruce, the original tree that Prince Albert introduced in to England in the 1800s.

“​Throughout the year, every single Christmas tree on the plantation is individually cultivated by hand, ensuring the development of the very highest quality trees across all ranges,” says George. "We are always looking at ways of improving and reducing the reliance on pesticides.

While some people are against the chopping down of trees, George points out that no tree is felled for at least five years and in that time it has massive benefit to the environment and compared to an imported fake tree its impact on the environment is far less.

"When people talk about chopping down trees they automatically think of the deforestation in the Amazon. But this is completely different. For every tree we fell we plant two – that is 60,000 new Christmas trees every year. Christmas trees are grown specifically for this purpose, meaning every tree that is cut down is replaced by more: Christmas trees are a fully regenerative crop.

"Every day, the 500,000 Christmas trees on our plantations are producing enough oxygen to support 4,000 people, and they are also an important habitat for birds and many beneficial insects. Our Christmas Trees are also absorbing some 600 tonnes of CO2 ever year.” A two-metre Christmas tree made from plastic has a carbon footprint of around 40kg of CO2, more than 10 times greater than that of a real tree, disposed of properly.

And while he does not agree with reports there will a shortage of trees this year, he admits that due to increase in fertiliser and fuel costs, the price of trees will inevitably be more.

Oliver Comb has more than 25 years experience of growing Christmas trees at York Christmas Trees (yorkchristmastrees.co.uk) at Wiggington and says the business is facing unprecedented pressures.

“We have struggled to get staff as we used to employ people from Poland and Latvia. When that dried up we had to mechanise but now diesel has gone up from 46p a litre to £1.17 and then there is the difficulty importing parts. It isn’t an easy industry, especially at the moment.”Oliver, who two years ago won a competition to supply the Christmas tree that stands outside Number 10 Downing Street, works closely with fellow Christmas tree growers Newburgh Priory Estate who sell around 26,000 trees a year. Together they are looking at the ecological benefits of Christmas trees and how to make them even more sustainable and reduce the need for insecticides.

Since its conception in 2007, Ripponden Farm (Rippondenchristmastreefarm.com) has developed a variety of mixed species plantations of more than 6,500 Christmas trees, selling up to 700 trees a year many to schools.

"I was worried that with school budgets being so tight they might not want a Christmas tree this year,” says owner Jeremy Mothersdale, “ but early indications don’t seem to be showing that. It’s a bit early to say about the domestic side of things.”