cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/5314469
Standing at 62ft (19 metres) tall, the spruce grew in Nordmarka, just outside of Oslo, before being chopped down, transported 1,000 miles and unveiled in central London on Monday in a scrawny condition.
People on social media were quick to mock the tree, which appeared to have been missing half of its volume before workers were seen hammering in extra branches, performing a “Christmas Miracle” transplant.
“They are taking the p**s that ain’t a Christmas tree. Well it is but it’s not what we expect. Send it back,” one person said to initial pictures of the tree.
Another person tweeted: “Each year it feels like this is a visual representation of the state of the nation. This year is ‘meh, could be better, could be worse.’”
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According to the MailOnline, this year’s tree may be the last dispatched from Norway with the tradition and transportation seen to be outdated and environmentally unfriendly.
I just assumed they had a permanent tree which they decorated every year.
The fact they chop down a giant tree every year and send it to the UK is really stupid.
Unless they somehow grow it on a tree farm and it just grows really fast which seems unlikely.
Christmas tree farms are very much a thing.
I know though this is 19 metres tall and I wasn’t sure how long tall they let them grow before selling them.
Live trees are not really a thing in Australia.
It’s usually around 50 years old.
According to the bbc this was the 76 tree and is around 70 years old.
Also from the article.
"However, the Norwegian foresters who look after the tree describe the chosen one as “the queen of the forest”.
That seems to also imply there is no tree farm used.
I doubt any tree farm would have a bunch of 50 year old trees laying around.
We have Christmas tree farms here in Oregon. I have heard that it takes about 5 years to grow to selling size, so 6-7 feet or 2 meters. So I don’t know what species they grow in Norway, but I bet it takes longer than 5 years!
It’s a Norway spruce.
The Larch. The Larch.
There is actually a bit of debate to stop this tradition (Norway giving a Christmas tree to the UK) because of environmental reasons. Some people are arguing that they could keep the tradition but instead Norway pays for a tree that was grown in the UK to avoid the long transport.