HARRISBURG — It may look like a picture-perfect specimen Mother Nature would have designed on her own.
However, the Schuylkill County producer of the “Best of Show” Christmas tree at this year’s 100th Pennsylvania Farm Show said the entry didn’t start out that way.
“Very few of these trees just happen,” Paul Shealer, co-owner of Evergreen Tree Farm, Auburn, said. “They’re literally groomed for competition.”
A Nordmann fir that Shealer raised was selected first in the “Other True Foreign Fir Class” by the farm show judges and then was chosen by visitors as the “Best of Show.” Since Shealer won a state title with his tree, he’s eligible to compete for a national title at the National Christmas Tree Association competition in 2017, as a member of the NCTA.
“I thought it would be a contender,” Shealer said of the Nordmann. “I actually had better hopes for my Fraser and concolor.”
He said his Nordmann’s extremely dark color may have been what attracted voters.
“The reason is that it was well-fed. There was a lot of fertilizer used to enhance that color, and the tree had a spiky appearance. The consumer seems to be switching to a more open tree,” he said, making it easier to decorate.
“I pay close attention to detail while I’m in the field. If I see a tree, I’ll flag that tree and go back to that tree. I’ll train branches. I’ll tie branches together to fill in any hole,” he said, noting the ties are eventually removed as the tree’s branches grow into place.
Also important, he said, is when a tree is fairly young, and less than four feet high, he will conduct “butt pruning,” where the lowest limbs are removed. All trees entered were required to have a five- to eight-inch handle on it. The handle, or “butt end” is the part of the tree that would be placed in a tree stand for display. Shealer said if growers try to prune too close to the date of the competition, it looks too noticeable and may distract from the tree’s visual appeal.
“It’s nice to know I’m already qualified for nationals. I wouldn’t have to compete next year in a state show, if I didn’t want to, and I would still be able to go to nationals,” he said.
It’s not the first time Shealer will be competing at the national level. In 2000, his farm had a winning Douglas fir that became the official Christmas tree at the White House. In 2015, another one of Shealer’s Nordmann firs placed third nationally.
Shealer entered seven trees in this year’s farm show. His Canaan fir won first in its class for “Other True Domestic Firs;” he also placed second with a Fraser fir; third with a Douglas fir; third with a balsam-Fraser cross in the hybrid cross class; fourth with a concolor and fourth with a spruce.
“Pennsylvania has some of the keenest competition in the country,” said Shealer, who has served as a judge in national, and other states’ Christmas tree competitions.
Shealer believes his attention to detail is what helps him grow award-winning trees. He said he studies trees at other competitions, and watches what people say about the trees while they’re browsing at the tree shows.
Shealer’s wife, Sharon, who co-owns the farm; his daughter, Briana Luckenbill; and his one-year-old grandson, Tristan Luckenbill, attended the farm show Tuesday and stopped by the Christmas tree display.
“Pennsylvania’s been very competitive,” Sharon Shealer said.
The Christmas trees are on display at the Maclay Street lobby side of the Main Hall at the Farm Show Complex. The show runs through Jan. 16.
For more information on results for other Schuylkill county competitors, visit the farm show website at www.farmshow.state.pa.us.