MORROW — For many Tristaters this Christmas, the smell of pine, the crunch of frozen ground and the sticky feel of sap as a fresh-cut Tannenbaum is dragged from a U-cut tree farm will be a healing balm for the grief and horror of Sept. 11.

Ryleigh Kaiser, 6, takes saw to tree Friday with the help of her dad, Daren, at Big Tree Plantation. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        “We like live trees because of the smell, the whole process of going out into a field, picking your own tree and taking it home,” said Jeff Douglas, a Maineville father of three.

        “For us, it's a family tradition that we are trying to nurture and grow.”

        Research firm Wirthin Worldwide surveyed 1,001 Americans Nov. 16-19 for the National Christmas Tree Association and found that more families are seeking comfort in holiday traditions at home after the September terrorist attacks.

        The Christmas Tree Association predicts that 32.3 million U.S. families will buy holiday trees in 2001, a 200,000 increase of over last season.

        Northern Kentucky University psychology professor Douglas Krull said that gathering after a time of stress is normal.

        “There is some work that suggests that when people are afraid, they want to be with others,” Mr. Krull said. “Specifically, the people they want to gather with are people who are experiencing the same stressful event.”

Tree tips

For live-cut trees:     • Cut the bottom off the tree stem to open the capillaries.     • Keep the tree moist: It can require as much as a gallon of water a day for the first week.     • Close heating vents close to tree.     • If the tree gets dry, cut the bottom again and re-water.     • Trees can last up to 60 days.     For trees to be planted after holidays:     • Do not take into the house immediately.     • Transition tree in a garage or breezeway.     • Keep root ball moist.     • Transition again before planting outside.     • Pack mulch around root ball while waiting to plant.     • Plant in late March to April.

        In the week that Big Tree Plantation near Morrow has offered Christmas trees, co-owner Ann Antenucci said, sales have been up 10 percent over the same period last year.

        Her farm has a horse-drawn wagon that takes customers into groves to cut down their own tree.

        The 194-acre farm has 4,000 Christmas trees for sale and 45,000 other trees on site.

        Friday, three generations of the Orr family from Deerfield Township and Finneytown were at Big Tree Plantation to choose their Canaan balsam.

        Tom Orr cut down the tree as his wife, Sheri, their two children, Alex and Annie, and Tom's father, Lowell, and his wife, Dottie, watched. The family videotaped the event.

        Alex, 2, liked the tree saw, and Annie, 4, said that her favorite part of the day was riding in the horse-drawn wagon.

        “It's important this year, but it's all part of that warm family bond, the togetherness, the love of Christmas and the meaning of it,” said Debra Kaiser, who moved to West Chester two years ago from Buffalo, N.Y., with her husband and three children.

        Mrs. Kaiser said that her family has cut its own tree for 13 years, and her daughter Reagan, 8, said that Tree Day is one of her favorite days of the year.

        Though the drought of two years ago hurt the tree business in Ohio and Kentucky, Mr. Arnold said growers in Greater Cincinnati are reporting better trees than they've seen in the past several years because of ample spring rain and a mild fall.

        In 1997, the last year for which figures are available, 155 Christmas tree farms were identified in Kentucky, and live Christmas tree sales reached $708,000, according to Anna Sidebottom of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

        In Ohio, a 1998 Ohio University study found that 6.5 million Christmas trees were sold or exported. Dale Arnold, executive director of the Ohio Christmas Tree Association, said his group has 325 member farms.

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