Denmark Christmas tree farmer helping families pine for the perfect tree

There is something magical about choosing the perfect Christmas tree to fill the family home with festive spirit. Covered in tinsel and baubles with presents for loved ones underneath, a tree is undeniably a big part of the “Christmas feeling”. The smiles that light up the faces of young and old when they get their tree is one of the main reasons Denmark’s Martin Paskett has been farming Christmas trees for 20 years. He works as a machine operator for the rest of the year, but with his partner Sarmite Untins and their son Shae, their family business Spirit Xmas Trees booms every December as families flock to his farm. “The experience of bringing kids out and choosing a tree is pretty special and a lot of people want to wander around with the kids and we take photos for the families,” he said. “It is a special experience for each tree for me as well. “I wish I could sell Christmas trees every day of the year.” Troy Hussey and his children, Scarlett, 6, and Cooper, 4, travelled from McKail to choose their tree at the farm on Tuesday. Mr Hussey said it was nice to have a real Christmas tree in their home. “They had lots of fun,” he said. “It makes it feel more like Christmas.” Mr Paskett and his family have 1700 trees in total, from seedlings to full grown trees. At their farm, it takes six years to grow the perfect tree. “They naturally won’t grow into a Christmas tree, they are quite leggy and want to grow into a 30m pine tree,” Mr Paskett said. “I get them up to a height and then I take all the branches off and they reshoot, and I re-prune and I keep that process going until they form into a Christmas tree. “We aim to get a nice evenly branched fluffy tree, where you can’t even see any branches because they are just full of new growth.” Typically, he sells between 200 and 500 trees each season depending on the harvest. This year, he expects to sell out of his fully grown trees. The tree variety is radiata pine, and he sources seedlings from a nursery in Boyanup. He said the trees would remain lush throughout December if they were kept away from direct sunlight and given plenty of water. Mr Paskett said he and his family decided to get into Christmas tree farming when they were trying to think of something to do with their paddock space. “We remembered buying trees when we were younger so we thought we would give it a go,” he said. “It was definitely a learning curve. It is not enough for me to make a living on unfortunately, but I am the Christmas tree guy in December.”