An aging American population may be less willing than a younger population to install and remove a live, fresh-cut evergreen tree in their home for Christmas celebrations. An alternative to using traditional, large, fresh-cut or potted Christmas trees could be forcing these evergreen species in a small (≈1-L) container that could be displayed on a tabletop. We initiated this study to determine consumer preferences and marketability for six evergreen tree species produced for tabletop display and used three decoration themes and three price points. We constructed a web-based survey in which 331 participants were compensated with a $5 e-coupon for viewing 27 photographs of tabletop trees and providing preference and use information. The conjoint model accounted for 91.2% of the variance and showed that consumers valued tree species as the most important attribute (61% of the tree value), with decoration color/theme the second most important feature (27%) and, last, price (12%). Black Hills spruce (Picea glauca var. densata (Moench) Voss) was the most preferred species overall, and red was the most preferred decoration theme. Logically, the lowest price point was the most preferred. However, price was the most important attribute for participants younger than 25 years. The importance of price decreased as participant age increased until age 60, when price became a more important component. With a cost of production of $5.45 and decoration and shipping estimated at an additional $4.00, the product could be a profit generator priced at any of the tested price points ($14.95 and above).

We assessed variable chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) and needle chlorophyll concentration of seedlings of Maccedonia fir (Abies borisii regis Mattfeld), subalpine fir [A. lasiocarpa (Hooker) Nuttall], Sakhalin fir [A. sachalinensis (Schmidt) Mast.], Siberian fir [A. sibirica (Lebed.)], and Veitch fir (A. veitchii Lindl.) grown under varying soil media pH. Soil media pH was modified using liquid flowable dolomitic limestone, resulting in five pH levels (3.4, 4.0, 5.4, 6.0, and 6.8). Increasing media pH significantly reduced Fv/Fm and needle chlorophyll concentration in all of the species tested. The effect of pH on photochemistry was due to depressed nutrient uptake of P, Mn, B, and Cu. Because photosynthetic quantum yield may be related to deficiencies of several elements affected by pH, Fv/Fm may serve as a criterion to select for improved pH tolerance. Among the species examined, A. veitchii and A. lasiocarpa were most tolerant of increased pH based on Fv/Fm and needle chlorophyll concentration.

Tabletop Christmas tree growers whose greenhouse-grown conifers have undesirable shoot growth may alleviate this problem by applying plant growth retardants (PGRs). Some of the most common PGRs in the horticulture industry were evaluated to determine their effectiveness in controlling plant height: ancymidol at 100 μL·L-1 (ppm), daminozide at 5000 μL·L-1, paclobutrazol at 60 μL·L-1, chlormequat at 1500 μL·L-1, uniconazole at 15 μL·L-1, and ethephon at 500 μL·L-1 compared to a nontreated control. The following conifer species were used: colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens), black hills spruce (P. glauca var. densata), serbian spruce (P. omorika), noble fir (Abies procera), grand fir (A. grandis), fraser fir (A. fraseri), concolor fir (A. concolor), arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis), port orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), and douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Chlormequat was the only PGR that caused phytotoxicity and damage to the foliage was minimal. Noble fir, douglas-fir, colorado blue spruce, and arborvitae were unaffected by any PGR treatment. Daminozide reduced growth of port orford cedar and concolor fir; uniconazole reduced growth of black hills spruce and serbian spruce; paclobutrazol reduced growth of fraser fir; and ethephon reduced growth of grand fir.

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The use of plant growth retardants (PGRs) could benefit conifer growers by enabling them to produce more uniform, live tabletop Christmas tree specimens. We applied two PGRs to determine effectiveness on height control and terminal bud density for the following species of conifer seedlings: Black Hills spruce (Picea glauca var. densata), Serbian spruce (P. omorika), Colorado blue spruce (P. pungens), and Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana). The chemicals were applied at 2-week intervals throughout an 8-week period for a total of four applications. Uniconazole was applied as a foliar spray and soil drench (5 and 1 ppm, respectively), 6-benzyladenine (BA) was applied as a foliar spray (500 and 1000 ppm), and the control did not receive a PGR application. Uniconazole was generally effective on the spruces but not on Port Orford cedar, whereas BA reduced height of all species and increased spruce bud densities. However, BA treatments were phytotoxic in all species tested. The drench of uniconazole caused minor phytotoxicity in Black Hills spruce, whereas foliar applications to Port Orford cedar had minor phytotoxic effects.