The Great Christmas Tree Debate: Buy Real or Fake?
It’s a great debate when it comes to Christmas trees: real or artificial?
Holiday shoppers at Bachman Floral and Garden Center in Plymouth weighed in on the age-old holiday debate.
For Minnetonka resident Susan Wahl, she’s on the side of real.
“I just like the sense of them and the feel of them and just knowing that they’re real,” said Wahl.
Artificial Trees sold at Bachman’s Floral and Garden Center.
But, for Plymouth resident Kathy McCullough, you can’t beat the fake thing.
“I was a real tree person, and then we went artificial and I love it,” said McCullough.
There’s pros to both real and artificial trees.
For instance, the faux evergreens are easy to take care of.
“You don’t have to water it,” said McCullough. “It’s not such a mess to clean up and you can just put it up and be done with it.”
But the fresh cut offers a smell of the season and are part of some people’s traditions.
Supply of real Christmas trees still available to buy.
“Kind of what I grew up with and I just prefer them,” said Wahl.
The two choices also come with some drawbacks.
Faux trees don’t typically biodegrade and real trees you have to cut down and require care.
“You do have to care for it because it is a living piece of nature,” said Karen Bachman Thull with Bachman’s.
At Bachman’s Floral and Garden Center in Plymouth, they cater to both camps.
The store offers a wide selection of pre-lit and pre-flocked artificial trees. And a variety of different types of real Christmas trees, including their No. 1 seller Fraser firs.
“It’s very defined branches,” said Bachman Thull. “The branches tend to be strong and sturdy.”
If you are wondering who wins the debate of real versus fake, you can look at the sale totals here at Bachman’s as an indicator.
As it turns out, half of the trees sold here are real, half are fake.
But while the debate will continue to creep up every year, one thing we all can agree on.
Time is running out this year to get the tree that fits your preference, as Christmas approaches and inventories drop, especially when it comes to pre-cut ones.
“We’re over 90 percent sold, so what you see in our green houses right now is what you get,” said Bachman Thull. “It is time if you haven’t purchased your tree it is time to get it.”
Bachman’s gets its trees from farms in Canada and the Pacific Northwest.
