For many families, the Christmas tree is an integral part of the festive season. Whether it be the arguments of what way the lights should go or the sight of presents underneath on Christmas Day, it is part and parcel of the holidays. For one family though, Christmas is all about the tree – or trees as it is in their case.

Spread over 250AC and located in two separate plantations, the folks at the Kilted Christmas Tree Company have their hands full managing their half a million Christmas trees. The business is run by Jimmy and Cameron Smith, a father and son team based out of Kinross.

“I suppose the common misconception most people have,” says Cameron, “is that we just plant the trees and come back in a few years to harvest them. There’s a lot more that goes into it than that.”

The business was founded by Jimmy back in 2006 with the aim of not only growing the trees but establishing an online website that they could be sold and distributed from. The business has been built up to include 125ac in Hereford and a further 125ac in Kinross where the company has their main warehouse.

In it for the long-haul

“Planting Christmas trees isn’t for the faint hearted,” says Cameron, “despite the fact that Dad started the business over 10 years ago, we’re only starting to see a return on the investment now.”

This is because the average growth cycle of a tree is seven years from planting to harvest to achieve the ideal 7’ tree. Cameron and his father import their trees from Denmark as two-year-old seedlings. They are then planted in the fertile arable soil necessary for good growth.

Cameron says: “90% of our trees are Nordman Fir. These are very well suited to being indoors for long periods and it is the most popular type of tree in the UK. The rest of our trees are either Fraser Fir or Norway Spruce that are slightly faster growing so we plant them along the edges to be harvested sooner.”

When it comes to harvesting in contrast to an arable operation one crop can take up to three years to be fully harvested.

“In year six we’ll go in and thin out the trees taking out any of the ones that have grown faster than the others. The bulk will come in year seven, but the slowest growing ones are taken out the following year,” explains Cameron.

The aim, now that they have reached the end of their first production cycle, is to harvest 50,000 trees a year. Numbers have not yet reached that and roughly 30,000 trees will go to wholesale orders while a further 5,000 will be sold via the website or on site to locals. There is plenty of work to be done to each tree before that point.

The trees are planted in March or April every year in stubble ground that has been sprayed off with glyphosate.

“For us, glyphosate is crucial and if it were to be banned it would have a serious impact on our ability to plant our trees effectively,” says Cameron. If trees are being replanted where others have been harvested, the stumps will be mulched or the trees will be planted in between the old rows depending on ground conditions.

The art of tree growing

Every care is taken by the Smiths and the contractors that are involved with growing the trees. Recently they have invested in GPS planting technology and autosteer machinery to plant the rows. The straighter they are planted the easier it will be to manage and harvest them over the coming years. Once planted, the first two years are all about establishment and root development. Trees will be winter sprayed to minimise weed growth before the real craftsmanship begins.

Years three and four are the two crucial years when it comes to achieving the perfect triangular shape that most people look for in their trees. Trees will be continuously pruned into this shape as well as ensuring they have only one main growth point.

“Our team of guys will be in there for three to four months of the year,” says Cameron, “tending to the trees and shaping them. The two biggest dangers we watch for are deer and aphid swarms. One of the biggest investments we had to make was deer fencing around all our plantations as a herd of deer can destroy 2,000 trees a day just by nipping the buds and stunting growth.”

The weather also has a huge influence on the Smiths’ business. “Trees need ground that isn’t too dry or too wet. People want a deep green tree that is the correct shape and height and it’s our job to make sure we deliver that.

“If conditions are too damp trees will not grow enough but if it gets too dry they do not bulk out enough. We’re lucky in a way that we have the two sites as it gives us plenty of different options.”

There are many challenges for the average tree grower outside of ones associated with growing of the trees. From the absence of supports for the industry to issues around importation or market flooding with trees produced by large Danish firms it can be a turbulent industry.

“I guess the biggest one of course is the length of time it takes to see any return on your investment,” admits Cameron.

Online business

Kilted Christmas Trees have not been idling though for the last 10 years. They have used the opportunity to grow the internet side of their business and establish their name in the business.

They have also expanded the business to outside trees.

“On the website, people can source not only trees, but also decorations, lights and wreaths. It’s the complete Christmas decorating website,” Cameron says.

The family have hired a full-time manager to run this side of the operation, Zosha Czyzewski, which frees them up to focus more on the management and direction of the company.

This frees up the family to focus more on the management and direction of the company.

Labour can also be a challenge as the nature of tree selling means that it must all begin in late November and finish before 25 December. Cameron is lucky in that there are a number of farmers in the locality who are interested in helping during the quiet periods in their own businesses.

“I know I can rely on them to be there early and work hard until they leave late in the afternoon. If I didn’t have them then I’d have a much bigger issue sourcing labour for the few weeks it is desperately needed.”

For the Smiths themselves though it is never a case of hand-picking the best tree for themselves.

“I don’t think Dad could bear to use a tree in the house if it could be sold so we usually end up with whatever is left over,” laughs Cameron.