Three freezing nights, then the saws come out: how a Maine balsam wreath is made

By Porter Lang

Timing comes first. Cut balsam fir tips too early and the needles drop off a few days later. Wait for the cold and they hold. That one fact explains why Maine wreath season has a start date, and why a good wreath is a matter of weather as much as wire.

When the tips are ready

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension publication on tip gathering, a university extension source, says tips can be cut only in late fall, after the needles have set and the tree has gone dormant. It cites Maine Christmas Tree Association standards: collect after November 1 and after at least three consecutive nights at 20 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. It says the season usually runs until mid-December.

The Sun Journal, a Maine newspaper, reaches the same point in plainer words: tips are ready after three consecutive freezing nights, when the waxy layer on the needles thickens. Harvesting often happens around mid-November, during hunting season, and cutting too early causes needles to drop.

How a tip is cut

According to Extension, the best tips come from the middle of the tree; the top has long stems and the bottom has needles on only one side. Grip the branch between thumb and forefinger and snap it off with a quick downward motion. Leave the last major set of stems so the branch can regrow in about three years. The Bangor Daily News, in a 2014 article, says cutters leave two to four shoots so the tree can be tipped again in two to three years.

On private land you need the landowner’s permission. Extension adds that you should carry written permission or a bill of sale when transporting tips. The Sun Journal reports that the state received about 13 complaints of illegal bough theft, eight of them in Washington and Hancock counties.

Hauling

Extension describes two ways to stack tips for carrying. In the stick method, you strip a 4- to 6-foot conifer pole down to its bottom set of branches, trim those to 4 to 8 inches, and slide tips onto it in alternating directions until the load reaches about 40 to 75 pounds. In the bundle method, you lay two strings crosswise, stack tips on them, compress them by kneeling, and tie the strings up around the bundle. Bundles typically weigh 20 to 30 pounds.

What goes into one wreath

Extension’s wreath publication lists ring sizes of 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 inches. The ring sets the outside diameter: a 12-inch ring gives a wreath of roughly 20 to 24 inches and takes 3.5 to 4.0 pounds of tips, with each bunch 9 to 12 inches long. It recommends crimped single rings for double-faced wreaths and double-rail rings for single-faced ones, 22- to 24-gauge wire, and green wire because it is easier to hide.

To build a bunch, start with a branch 12 to 20 inches long, break it into two or three pieces and overlap them. Wire each bunch tightly two or three times around bunch and ring, one-third to one-half of the way up from the stem end. Alternate bunches from side to side, needles facing opposite ways and stems pointing the same way, a couple of inches apart. Start with a slightly longer first bunch; it helps hide the wire on the last one.

The Bangor Daily News says workers on larger operations trim the branches, set them on a metal form, and a machine wires the bunches on. The Sun Journal says the wreaths it describes are double-faced, made on a 12-inch ring that a machine wraps around the tips, and that one farm it visits makes about 200 wreaths a year from roughly 1,000 pounds of tips.

Checking a finished wreath

Extension gives a short list: compact and sturdy enough to shake without falling apart, a distinct round hole in the center, no ring, wire or broken stems showing, and an acceptable weight. Our reading: it is a checklist a buyer can use without knowing anything about fir.

For storage, Extension says to keep finished wreaths in a cool, damp place, sheltered from wind, rain and sun, with good ventilation. Stacking on pallets keeps them off the ground. It warns that large quantities have been ruined in closed buildings, because damp, poorly ventilated organic matter can decompose.

Why balsam

The Bangor Daily News says balsam’s scent is the main draw. Producers it quotes say other greens can be used, but balsam is strongly associated with Christmas, and Maine wreaths are seen as a state product. The Sun Journal calls wreath-making an iconic Maine industry and estimates the state makes a few million balsam fir wreaths a year. That estimate comes from ring sales by one supplier, because the state does not track the industry.

Dates in order

November 1: earliest date for tipping under the Maine Christmas Tree Association standards cited by Extension.
Three nights at 20 degrees or colder: the cold trigger, according to Extension.
Mid-November: when much harvesting happens, according to the Sun Journal.
Mid-December: usual end of the tipping season, according to Extension.

Side by side

Question	University of Maine Extension	Bangor Daily News (2014)	Sun Journal (2024)
Regrowth	About three years	Two to three years	Not stated
Tips per wreath	3.5 to 4.0 lb for a 12-inch ring	About 5 lb for a standard 22-inch wreath	About 1,000 lb for 200 wreaths
Cutting	12 to 20 inches	About 18 inches	1 to 2 feet
Cold trigger	Three nights at 20 degrees or below	Cold weather	Three freezing nights

What kind of sources these are

Two University of Maine extension publications give method and standards. Two newspaper articles, ten years apart, describe working operations and give estimates. None is a wreath seller’s catalog. Neither newspaper names a state record for output, and we did not find one.

What we left out

Wholesale and retail wreath prices, permit fees, the names of individual farms and companies, and decoration advice, because the sources did not cover them.

Quick answers

When can you cut balsam fir tips for wreaths? According to University of Maine Extension, after November 1 and after at least three consecutive nights at 20 degrees Fahrenheit or colder.

How many pounds of tips make a wreath? Extension says a 12-inch ring takes 3.5 to 4.0 pounds. A 2014 Bangor Daily News article says about 5 pounds for a standard 22-inch wreath.

What should a good wreath look like? Extension says it should be compact and sturdy, with a round center hole and no wire or ring showing.

Roam first. Shop later.

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