Carl Wegner in front of a Siberian pine.
I took off on a winter Saturday in search of an Iron Range Christmas tree farm in tiny Blackberry Minnesota. My GPS took me down 169 and then on to a maze of country roads before I turned in at the sign for Wegner’s Tree Farm. It’s way out in the woods about 10 miles from Grand Rapids. Seventy acres of beautiful evergreens spread out from the house, barn, and storage buildings. At 1,000 trees per acre, that’s alot of trees! There used to be many more growers in Itasca County, around 40, but there are only 4 left, I learn from Carl Wegner, the man who started this farm in 1979. The whole state of Minnesota has only 65 christmas tree operations with 1,241,000 trees planted according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
Carl is 78 now, retired in 1997 from the University of Minnesota Extension’s Forestry Service where he taught, among other things, Christmas tree growing. At the time he hadn’t grown any, and one of his students challenged him on that. So he and a college buddy bought some land and planted Christmas trees. A few years later, he and his wife bought this farm and began with 5,000 Norways. By the time they were mature enough to sell, though, folks weren’t buying Norways for Christmas trees anymore. So Carl’s buddy came with logging equipment and took them all down. Quite a risk for a newcomer! These days the farm grows mostly Balsam (the most popular) along with White Pine, White Spruce, and a Frazier Fir from N. Carolina.
Carl’s son runs the day-to-day operation now, but Carl still works on the crew. It’s a year-round job. They plant new trees each year for 3-4 weeks starting April 20, walking the rows and planting by hand wherever there’s a tree missing. They plant half the farm each year. The trees being planted have been raised right here from seeds harvested from cones on the farm. They pick cones very selectively, choosing cones from the best trees, extract the seeds, and plant them in a raised-bed nursery area in mid-October. And there they grow in batches by year until they are about 5 years old and move to the transplant bed. From there, the bigger ones go to the field in the spring.
The tree nursery. New trees in various stages of growth, from youngest to oldest, left to right.
Once the trees are planted, fertilizer is applied from a tractor running between the rows. As you can imagine, it takes several tons to feed this crop. And the trees can grow as much as 12 inches in June! On June 20, the shearing begins, cutting off the tips. All shearing is done by hand with a very sharp knife. It has an 18 inch handle and a 16 inch blade. The trees are sheared early so that they set new buds from which the cones are picked for seed. Shearing 70,000 trees takes time, but each tree is sheared once each year. The quest for an “improved tree” takes many forms beyond shearing.
Carl and his crew graft different varieties onto small native Balsams. There are some 30-foot trees here that were grafted with varieties from Maine, Vermont, and Hew Hampshire in 1990. They still yield cones that are harvest for seed. In 1988, Carl attended the National Christmas Tree Growers conference in Maine and stopped at a blue balsam farm on the way back and bought a pound of seed to experiment with. There are 4 research plots here, testing different types of fir. They’ve found that Siberian and Korean fir grow well here. Carl is standing in front of a Siberian fir in this photo. The Canaan fir does well, too—it’s a natural cross between a Balsam and a Frazier. Trees are graded based on the number of buds in the top whorl, the needle length and color, and branch angle. The goal is a fast growing tree with a blue tint—that sells best.
During the late summer, Wegner’s Tree Farm sends out price lists to customers and customers send in their orders with a downpayment. This farm has about 25 wholesale customers, including Kunnari’s in Virginia, in addition to its choose and cut operation. Then the trees are marked in the field for cutting. The White Pine and White Spruce are tinted green, and in the fall, the cutting and baling begins. The automated baler can do 100 trees an hour with two operators. And then they’re off, by truck, to the retailers in Minnesota and North Dakota.
Baled trees, ready to ship.
I ask about weeds and pests—they don’t use herbicides here as they build up in the soil and kill trees. They don’t spray, either, as they don’t have many insect pests. But the deer do love to eat the sides of certain Frazier firs. Not all of them, only certain ones…apparently deer are choosy. We walk out to the field to see several examples. A tree that’s been eaten near the bottom eventually will grow to 9 feet and can be cut as a 6 foot tree to avoid the damage. Nothing is wasted at Wegner’s, it’s all salvaged. Carl says he was taught never to waste anything. He has a sawmill made by Woodmizer and sells pine boards and also cuts oak with a live edge. The farm has 6 acres of red pine for lumber.
Examples of deer damage.
As I’m leaving I ask about some old cars near the barn. Carl asks if I want to see his collection, and of course I do! I used to date a guy who collected and restored vintage British cars and I know what a passion this can be. Carl has a large pole building and a barn full of beautifully restored vintage Chryslers, some of which he has owned since they were new. I notice a gray Plymouth from the late 40’s and it looks almost exactly like the gray 1949 Plymouth my parents had when I was very young. Carl tells me the exact name of the gray color. It brought back memories. He loves restoring these beauties! He and his wife go to national car club events during the summer…driving their prize vehicles around the country--or at least they hope to again this coming summer when Covid will be behind us.
Ready to hit the road when Covid subsides and summer comes again!
By the time you read this, the holidays will be winding down. But put Wegner’s Tree Farm on your list for next year and head on out to Blackberry for the real thing!
