The whole concept of going to a Christmas tree farm wasn’t really ‘a thing’ in Ireland when Karen and Justin Morton first opened Killakee Christmas tree farm in the Dublin mountains in 2005.
With its lush green colour, fully fitted from top to bottom, its perfect shape and a lovely smell, the nordman fir is the most popular Christmas tree sold in Ireland, Karen told Agriland.
Most Irish households look for trees up to 8ft tall which will have taken approximately 10 years to grow on average, cleaning the air and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) while growing, she said.
For every tree that is cut on the farm, at least one or two trees are replanted by hand, keeping the carbon sequestration cycle going, she said, stressing that sustainability is very important.
Several thousand trees are planted on Karen and Justin’s farm, including some long-term forestry and two conifer species of Christmas trees – the nordman fir and the noble fir.
While both retain their needles very well, the noble fir, which is also popular in Ireland, has a stronger aroma, more defined layers, a silvery bluey colour, and stronger branches ideal for heavier decorations.
Killakee Christmas tree farm
Inspired by his time in the scouts growing up, Karen’s husband Justin planted a farm of trees on his land in the Dublin mountains in the mid-90s.
Karen initially expected to wholesale the trees, however after experimenting with people coming and picking their own tree, Killakee Christmas tree farm focuses on cutting, netting and trimming the trees chosen by visitors.
“We really had no idea when we first started. The whole concept of coming to a Christmas tree farm wasn’t really a thing in Ireland at the time. It is quite American and you see a lot of it in Germany.
“It is my husband and myself and now our three kids are involved as well, they are in their early teens and are starting to become great help on the farm.
“We do get guys to come and help us both throughout the year with the planting and pruning but also in the busy Christmas season, we couldn’t do it without the team,” Karen said.
As part of a schools’ education programme, children from schools in the local community are invited to the farm during the Christmas period to learn about farming.
“It is really good to give back to the local community and educate kids on the benefits of farming and growing real Christmas trees,” Karen said.
Farming calendar
After trees have been cut at Christmas time, in early spring seedlings will be planted by hand without the use of machinery, Karen emphasised, due to the farm’s location on the side of a mountain.
During the growth season which starts in the early summer, the trees require quite a lot of pruning, she said, to ensure they are developing a perfect Christmas tree shape.
While the natural cycle generally tends to take care of itself – ladybirds eat the insects that can attack trees – intervention is sometimes needed to deal with harmful insects and to protect the trees.
In the autumn time, particularly from Halloween onwards, Killakee Christmas tree farm prepares for visitors in the next season including managing the flow of people using a booking system and marketing on social media.
Recycle your Christmas tree
Unlike fake Christmas trees which are commonly manufactured from plastic, real trees are recyclable and biodegradable and can be used as firewood to heat homes, or mulch in gardens.
“Although you might keep your artificial tree for 10 or 20 years, ultimately it is going to end up in landfill,” she said adding that all county councils around the country take and recycle the real trees after Christmas.
“At the end of the day, if we didn’t bring a real Christmas tree into our house we would never plant them, we wouldn’t be growing them because there would be no need for them.
“The real Christmas trees are providing such a critical role in cleaning the air for us, as well as being fully recyclable and supporting the Irish economy,” Karen said.
Dublin City Council will provide a free Christmas tree disposal service at several bring centres, civic amenity sites and local drop-off points from Friday, January 6-22, 2023.
All trees will be recycled for use as compost and wood chips. All locations and opening times can be found on the Dublin City Council website.
Croke Park
Trees can also be recycled at Croke Park from Wednesday, January 4-6 and from Monday, January 9-13, 2023 from 10:00a.m – 7:00p.m.