How to shear a Christmas tree. Part 1: The basics

Shearing or trimming a Christmas tree is probably the most important and time consuming job on a Christmas tree farm. We like to shear with a knife, or a blade that is 16 inches long, with an 18 inch handle. You also need to have hand pruners available. It is important to remember that you do not want shoulders on your tree. You want straight lines from top to bottom. Usually these lines come within a few degrees of a 40 degree angle. You start your cuts from the top of the tree and come down. You will want to cut your top or your leader first to know your starting point. We also show how to cut handles and the importance of that process. Here at East Fork Christmas tree farm we grow 4 main varieties of trees. Noble Fir, Noordman fir, Grand fir, and Doug Fir. Shearing is done from mid July through August when the trees are done growing but have not become woody yet