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Take the whole family to the plantation to buy a Christmas tree. Regional, self-selected trees sell well.
Do not pick it up at the wholesalers, but choose your own Christmas tree in the forest, cut it down there and take it home with you. The purchase of a Christmas tree becomes an event. A Christmas trend that is confirmed at Philipp Angehrn’s farm in Häggenschwil near St. Gallen. In the last five years there has been a strong trend towards families coming to his farm and choosing their Christmas tree on site.
Legend:
“The absolute classic is the Nordmann fir,” says Christmas tree producer Philipp Angehrn.
SRF SASCHA ZUERCHER
Philipp Angehrn and his family are the third generation to produce Christmas trees in Häggenschwil. The 31-year-old took over the business from his father a year ago. He had implemented the idea of selling Christmas trees in the forest years ago – with success. His son Philipp Angehrn told the regional journal Ostschweiz that he had a good feel for the needs of customers. In addition to producing Christmas trees, Angehrns keep pigs, have fruit trees and cultivate meadows and arable land.
Pay attention to the full moon when cutting – this is not just a myth.
The people valued the regionality and sustainability of the Christmas trees from the farm, says Philipp Angehrn. Customers are also grateful for tips on how to handle the fir trees. Angehrn is convinced that the tree will keep its needles longer if it is cut under a full moon. His father had already bet: “Pay attention to the full moon when cutting – that is not just a myth.”
Legend:
Up to 10,000 trees grow per hectare. In total, there are around 40,000 fir trees on the Christmas tree plantation in Häggenschwil.
ZVG / ANGEHRN
The absolute classic for Christmas in the warm room, adorned with balls, stars, glitter or with Schöggeli, dried apples and straw stars, is still the Nordmann fir. So 90 percent of all trees on Angehrn’s plantation are Nordmann-fir. There are also the blue, the red and, very occasionally, the white fir to choose from.
Sometimes customers come by in late summer and choose their Christmas tree.
A Nordmann fir takes up to ten years to reach a height of two meters. The preferred size is a little higher, around 2.00 to 2.20 m, says Angehrn, who in spring plants a young one next to the cut tree. Such a Christmas tree costs between 20 and 150 francs, depending on its size and type.
Philipp Angehrn cultivates Christmas tree cultures on four hectares in Häggenschwil and Lömmenschwil. Up to 10,000 trees grow per hectare, a total of around 40,000 fir trees. Many of them are being beaten these days and are moving from the forest to the living room of families from Eastern Switzerland.
Before Christmas around 1500 Christmas trees are sold directly from the farm in Häggenschwil. “With Corona it was a little more in the past two years,” says Philipp Angehrn. The Christmas tree business has become an important line of business for Angehrns and generates around a quarter of the company’s turnover.