Trees for Christmas!

Selected species of conifers grown in overseas plantations appear to be almost indispensable must-haves for Christmas. In Singapore, Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana, shown in photograph below) and noble fir (Abies procera) are two popular conifers that are imported and sold in local nurseries before the festive season. Noble firs emit a citrus-like aroma and tend to be bushier whereas Nordmann firs are exhibit a more distinctive layered look and a droopier look, with more spaces between the branches than the former.

Many Singaporeans buy live Christmas trees because the delightful fragrance from the aromatic oils in the leaves that permeate the entire home environment. Live Christmas trees are entirely biodegradable and can be turned into woodchips for use as mulch after they decline.

This year, in HortPark’s Lifestyle Corner, we put up a Christmas tree corner where visitors can pose for photographs. We have two Christmas trees, one is a common Nordmann fir while another is a blue spruce. The latter is a relatively new introduction we bought from Candy Floriculture Pte Ltd that is known by its botanical name Picea pungens glauca ’Baby Blue’ which happens to be a cultivar grown from seed harvested from a blue spruce orchard at West Montrose Farms Ltd (Source – http://www.babybluespruce.com/index.htm). Shown below, it has beautiful bluish green leaves that are not commonly seen in the local range of imported Christmas trees.

Imported Christmas trees these days come in both the usual cut form, as well as, potted trees, complete with roots and growing media. The latter type of tree is probably easier to maintain as water is stored in the soil compared to having to watch a reservoir of water placed at the base of a cut tree. In Singapore, there is always a risk of mosquito breeding in reservoirs containing stagnant water. Hence it is necessary to put anti-mosquito granules in water reservoirs for cut Christmas trees.

It is unlikely that these imported potted Christmas trees can survive and even grow in the long term in Singapore due to differences in climate as these trees come from temperate regions that experience frost. It is during this time that trees get their annual rest which cannot be observed in tropical Singapore. Trees may not die immediately but they should slowly decline.

For those of us who are looking for tropical alternatives that will thrive in Singapore, there is actually a limited range of conifer species to choose from. However, there are two major drawbacks associated with the use of these trees. Most of these species do not have aromatic foliage and need to be placed in a location with good light to prevent leaves from turning brown and falling.

Shown in the outdoor display in HortPark’s Lifestyle Corner on the Timber Deck (picture above), we have put forth a selection of Chinese juniper cultivars (Juniperus chinensis) which adopt different growth habits, ranging from those with erect and conical canopy shape to those with sprawling ones. Some have leaves that are tipped with gold or even blue. Two other conifers for consideration include the Oriental Thuja (Platycladus orientalis) and Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla).