Real or plastic tree? The Christmas tree trend in Vorarlberg!

Real or plastic tree? The Christmas tree trend in Vorarlberg!

The smell of freshly felled fir trees reigns in the living rooms at home during Advent, but the trend towards plastic trees is also becoming more and more relevant in Austria. How vorarlberg.orf.at reports, many families are now taking note of the opportunity to decorate their Christmas tree well before Christmas Eve. This shift in customs sparks a discussion about the choice between a real Christmas tree and an artificial counterpart. While garden centers like Dehner in Hohenems report an increase in sales of plastic trees, traditional Christmas tree sellers like Daniel Sieber see it differently. He reports numerous pre-orders and sees no decline in sales of real trees. “The scent of real fir trees attracts people,” explains Sieber.

Growing conditions and care of Christmas trees

The sustainable aspect is at the heart of the closer competition between real and artificial trees. Sieber criticizes the misunderstanding of relying on plastic trees, which supposedly have a lower carbon footprint. To be even more environmentally friendly, a plastic tree would have to be used for more than 16 years, he explains. Many customers who are keen to make decisions are interested in the biological origins of when it is best to light up naked natural trees in their own four walls.

How sieber-christbaum.at shows, the quality of a Christmas tree is the result of targeted cultivation techniques and intensive care. The long growth process takes up to 10 years until the trees have reached a suitable room height. During this time, not only do the seedlings need to be fertilized appropriately, pests and other threats such as late frosts also need to be combated. Therefore, special measures are necessary to ensure that the tree ultimately grows wonderfully and smells good in the families' living rooms.