Growing Trees
Balsam Fir trees with the
Presidential Range
in the background.
Shaping the sides of the trees
Hand pruning of thetops of the trees
Loading Semis for delivery
Harvesting trees
A Natural Process
Why are Christmas trees grown at the Rocks Estate, a conservation property owned and managed by the Forest Society? Christmas Trees have been grown at the Rocks Estate for over 30 years. Before the well-groomed fields of trees were planted, "wild stands" (groups of trees) under a power line were managed for Christmas trees. When Martha Batchelder and John Lee donated the property to the Forest Society and stated they would always like to see a crop in the fields. For this reason, our trees are now grown in the old fields that John Glessner, the donor's grandfather, had cleared when he built his estate.
- Trees are planted when 4 or 5 years old, usually between trees that are going to be harvested within the next 3 years.
- It takes 6-9 more years to raise the seedlings to fully grown trees.
- Forest Society staff, drawn from the local community, help to grow the seedlings into the perfect family Christmas tree.
Each tree (we now have 48,000 of them) has to be hand pruned or shaped every year. This gives the triangular shape that we all expect and a nice, dense tree you cannot see through. All of the trees are shaped between July 7th and September 1st each year.
When it comes to harvest time each wholesale or retail tree is carefully selected and cut by our staff. Trees are wrapped to protect them and loaded onto trucks to get them out of the fields and to their destinations all over New England.
Many people travel from all over the country to get a Harvest-Your-Own tree from the Rocks Estate. You can enjoy the beautiful scenery, great staff and know that your money is going to a good cause, helping to protect the land in New Hampshire. If you cannot make it to Bethlehem, let us ship a tree and/or wreath to you for the holiday season.