Pearl River, Los Angeles (WVUE) – The early chills filled people with festive atmosphere, so although we haven’t eaten Thanksgiving turkeys, many families are already looking for the perfect Christmas tree.
Clark Gernon, owner of Shady Pond Farm in St. Tamani, said his choices performed better this season, in part because of last year’s snowfall.
The fragrant Carolina sapphire smells like mint and lemon, just one of Shady Pond’s 14,000 Christmas trees.
“When we came here as a family in 1955, of course; there were no trees,” said Gren.
A large number of centuries-old oak trees are covered with moss, but the Christmas tree is in short supply.
“All we have to do is cut down a 20-foot pine tree and put it on the roof,” said Gren.
The tree did its job, but Gernon said it didn’t look the same.
“This is the ugliest tree you’ve ever seen in your life. They are terrible, but I always like to do it,” he said.
Gernon has realized the dream of bringing this happiness to others. He said that the 2017 snow has helped this year’s trees shine without lights.
“We knew many years ago that snow transferred nutrients to the soil,” says Gren.
The extra fertilizer produced a big difference.
“The Virginia pine we are observing may have increased by a foot and a half,” Greenon said.
Joe Willis of Louisiana State University Agricultural Company explains that nitrogen in the atmosphere does indeed
“Nitrogen is part of the green plants in plants. The more nitrogen they have, the more green they have, and they can eat more food,” Willis said.
The trees planted in February were only a few inches high, and now some trees are three feet tall.
“If you are in a country where snow is part of the normal ecosystem, you can take it for granted,” says Gren.
There is a greater benefit to the new species of Gernon planted under his name – a stronger, faster-growing version of Leyland Cypress, the most popular of the nine Christrmas species he grows.
“Shady Pond’s inventory of specific breeds is the only species in the world,” Gernon said. “I like to be associated with this kind of thing. The natural world aspect is what most of us don’t know.”
