Sustainability of Plantforce’s live Christmas trees

All our Christmas trees are Nordmanniana (Abies Nordmanniana)

Nordmanniana Christmas trees are grown on agricultural land and are considered to be an agricultural crop, with a rotation of 12 years. Their status as an agricultural crop is acknowledged within all member states of the EU. Nordmanniana are not considered a forest tree. No countries within the EU, where there are grants or subsidies for establishing new forest, accept Nordmanniana to qualify for grants or subsidies as a forest-culture.

As an agricultural crop, Nordmanniana has the same restrictions as any other agricultural crop and they have the maximum Nitrogen allowance of 75 kg per hectare per year. Use of pesticides and herbicides is restricted and these restrictions more or less coincide with allowance for pesticides and herbicides in barley, wheat, oat and rye. Records must be kept available for inspection by the appropriate Ministry of Agriculture. Stocks are checked and random inspections are often carried out.

Nordmanniana cannot grow as a sustainable product as the specie is not indigenous in northern Europe and originates from the Caucasian Mountains in Russia. It is only imported as seed for the purpose of Christmas Trees. As a timber product the quality of the wood is far too poor with a very loose wood structure and cannot withstand nails. It is for these reasons that Nordmanniana are not considered suitable to qualify as a forest tree.

Nordmanniana Christmas trees are often grown on poor soil that would not support anything else, harvested and then replaced each year to sustain numbers. Nordmanniana Christmas tree plantations act as nature reserves and support a wide range of wildlife and birds.

Our 10ft + Nordmanniana Christmas trees are UK grown and are sourced from Woods Farm, Solihull, West Midlands. Woods Farm is a member of British Association of Christmas tree growers. All BCTGA members have to adhere to strict standards in sustainability i.e.

• The growing of Christmas tree is to be carried out by “best practices” as specified by research carried out in the UK and overseas.
• Plantation land is subject to a survey on environmental, ecological and archaeological impact.
• The BCTGA commissions and encourages research into methods of dealing with pests and diseases which reduce or eliminate the need to use chemicals. All growers have inspections under the COSSH regulations.
• The cutting of Christmas tee is done in winter which has minimum affect on disturbance of wildlife.

Every tree grown converts upto 12kg of carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon, collectively removing approx 5m tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere throughout Europe.

After Christmas all trees are recycled and turned into mulch which is an excellent conditioner and protective cover for any type of soil, improving the appearance of any landscape and adding in much needed nutrients to the soil.