![]() Guggisberg said his top selling trees are fir trees. However, he said the Fraser and Canaan fir trees, along with the Balsam-Korean hybrid and white and Scotch pine trees, all hold their needles very well. Guggisberg said one reason people are deterred from buying a real tree is concerns over cleanup. Those trees are planted across roughly 10 acres. Guggisberg Tree Farm grows eight different varieties of trees: white pine, Scotch pine, Balsam fir, Fraser fir, Canaan fir, blue spruce, Black Hill spruce and Balsam-Korean fir hybrid. Most people don’t realize how much labor is involved in getting a nice Christmas tree to market.” It’s really a lot of work all season to get these trees. “But it starts in spring, we dig out the old stumps, we till all the ground and prepare the ground, then we have to plant them, then it’s watering throughout the summer, then trimming. “Some people think it all just happens a couple weeks in the fall,” he said. Guggisberg said there’s a lot involved to maintain the tree farm, such as watering, trimming and fertilizing. “People sometimes say, ‘Aren’t you sad to see the trees get cut off?’ And I say, ‘I planted them for that reason.’ If I would just leave them grow, they’re so closely planted that they would all just die because they’d all grow into each other anyway.” It’s so neat because it’s just fun watching things grow and develop. Even in winter, unless it’s really, really cold, I just love being outside. So, when people can’t find me, they know I’m outside somewhere. “I enjoy trees, I love trees and gardening and anything that happens outside - nature. “I love nature, I love being outdoors,” Guggisberg said. Guggisberg’s tree farm is rooted in his love of nature. Paul, acquiring a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental horticulture. Guggisberg attended the University of Minnesota Waseca, and earned a degree in landscape/nursery before attending the University of Minnesota – St. So we start them as young transplants and they’re usually in at 8 to 10 inches high.” “So eight to 10 years is roughly what it takes, depending on the type of tree. “It takes roughly eight to 10 years from the small seedlings we plant to get them ready for harvest,” Guggisberg said. Getting his tree farm open for business in 2006 was a process for Guggisberg also, as the first few trees were planted on the farm in 1994. Numbers were also down this year due to three consecutive dry years, which has caused trees to grow slower. ![]() Right: Tony Guggisberg and his daughter Liz shake a Scotch pine tree to remove old needles.
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