Gathering Balsam Fir Tips for Maine Christmas Wreaths

Balsam fir is used to make Christmas wreaths and Christmas centerpieces in Maine because it is plentiful and makes beautifully fragrant wreaths. The tips of the branches are used which is the end portion. The tips are cut in lengths from 12 to 20 inches. One tip is normally broken into two or three pieces, bunched together and then wired onto the wreath ring.

Gathering the balsam tips is called tipping. Tipping can’t start until late fall after the needles are set which is normally after the first few frosts. After the needles are set the balsam fir tree will stop growing, staying dormant, until spring. The pores in the needles are sealed by a waxy coating that covers the needle’s surface. If tips are gathered before setting the needles fall off in a short time and can’t be used. In Maine, balsam brush shouldn’t be collected until after November 1 with a minimum of three consecutive 20 degree or colder nights.

To gather tips on privately owned forests the tippers have to get permission. Large corporations issue permits with fees for their property. Most wreath producers are very particular about the quality of the tips they purchase. It’s hard to produce a top quality wreath if you don’t have top quality balsam tips to start with. The tips should have needles on all sides of the tip’s stems appearing rounded. They should be a dark green color. They also should be free of any sign of insect damage.

The best quality tips come from the middle of the tree. The branches on the top of the trees oftentimes have long stems and the bottom branches usually only have needles on one side. Naturally, wreath producers purchasing tips are looking for the deep green, rounded tips that come from the middle of the trees.

After cutting the tips are stacked on a stick in alternate directions until the stick weighs between 50 and 75 lbs. with twine attached to the ends for carrying. They are then taken to be sold to the local wreath producers. The tips are sold according to their weight.

Global warming may have an adverse effect on the Christmas wreath industry in Maine if it continues as predicted. As the fall gets warmer and warmer it’s possible that we won’t have the needed frost to set the needles on the balsam fir trees until it’s too late for the Christmas season.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

Maine Christmas Wreath Industry

Maine is the largest producer of balsam fir Christmas wreaths in the United States. Millions of wreaths are shipped out every year. Maine’s forests cover over 85% of the state. A lot of this forest is available for harvesting of balsam fir tips which is a sustainable harvest. Only 12 to 20 inches of the ends of the branches are cut and they grow back year to year.

A wreath is made by attaching bunches of the balsam fir tips to a metal ring. The bunches of tips are wired to the ring. The common sizes for the wreath rings are 8,10, 12, 14 and 16 inch. The outside diameter of the wreath is determined by the size of the ring. For example, at Acadia Wreath Company, our 24” Christmas wreath is built on a 12 inch ring and our 30” Christmas wreath is built on a 16” ring. The amount of balsam tips needed for a wreath depends again on the size of the ring. We make very full, double-faced wreaths except for our vehicle wreath.

Our 24” wreath weighs about 6 lbs and our 30” wreath weighs about 8 lbs. A double-faced wreath has the balsam tips attached to both sides of the wreath ring making a much fuller wreath. We have a customer who has us decorate both sides of her wreath because she hangs it on a glass door where it can be seen from each side of the door. This wouldn’t work with a single-faced wreath with the balsam tips attached to only one side. Naturally, the single-faced wreaths are cheaper to make in materials and labor. Most of the major big box retailers sell single-faced wreaths.

The wreath industry in Maine includes tippers, wreath makers, wholesalers and retailers. Tippers (people who gather the tips) sell to a local wreath business or wreath maker. There is a large cottage industry of wreath makers who make wreaths at home and sell them, undecorated for the most part, to local wholesalers or retailers or directly to consumers.

The balsam fir tips are not only used to make Christmas wreaths. Christmas centerpieces, kissing balls, swags and garland are also made. Garland is not a huge part of the industry because wreath makers can make a lot more money making wreaths and so garland is harder to find. Demand for balsam fir Christmas products is increasing every year. It is the most fragrant of all the firs with the smell most associated with Christmas. Also, it’s natural and sustainable and artificial, plastic wreaths are viewed as tacky and they sure don’t smell like Christmas.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.