I've lived on a Christmas tree farm all my life and this time of year is all about cutting and preparing trees so they are ready to make their festive appearance.
Woods Farm Christmas trees in Solihull, West Midlands, is one of the largest in the UK so we have a variety of Christmas tree types growing here, from Blue Spruce to Norway Spruce. This year I decided to pick out the perfect tree for my own home, which I self built this year, to explain how Christmas trees are prepared as well as adding a little festivity to my front room.
Cutting down your own Christmas tree is a particularly rewarding experience, especially with the right tools. My favourite tool for the job is a Husqvarna 455 Rancher chainsaw, which I put it to the test on a Blue Spruce to assess its power, precision and ease of use.
From felling the tree to cutting it to size, here’s how a Christmas tree is prepared for a home as well as explaining why this particular chainsaw is my preferred power saw for the task.
Husqvarna 455 Rancher 18" Chain Saw 56cc 3/8 .050
Choosing the tree
When cutting down a tree you need to make sure it can fall in a safe direction(Image credit: Future)
First thing to do was picking out a tree and I chose this Blue Spruce tree as its pines fall less, so would be suitable for my house.
When compared to other trees, such as the Nordmann fir or the traditional Norway Spruce, who's pines can fall off in less than a couple of weeks the Blue Spruce will last a month if kept in the right conditions, such as away from radiators.
Second was making sure my chainsaw, the Husqvarna 455 Rancher, which is available on Amazon, had a large enough bar to cut the tree down. Thankfully, with its 18-inch bar, this was more than enough to cut down pretty much any Christmas tree on the farm.
Third was making sure there was enough space around to make the tree fall in a safe direction.
Felling the Christmas tree
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Clearing the tree of branches is done to make way for cutting out a notch(Image credit: Future)
The notch is a triangular cut taken out of a tree(Image credit: Future)
A cut is then made from the back to make the tree fall(Image credit: Future)
The tree will fall in direction of the notch(Image credit: Future)
After choosing the tree I then cleared the low-hanging branches from the tree to make way for the felling cut.
The felling cut is a diagonal cut on the face of tree, which was made easy using the Husqvarna 455Rancher with its 2.6 kW powered engine. The cut was made in seconds and left a clean wedge (part taken from the tree).
Using a petrol chainsaw over a battery one is preferential as these, particularly the 455 Rancher, due to its increased power output meaning battery-powered chainsaws, like the Husqvarna Accumulator, will struggle to cut through trees, particularly larger ones.
Then around the back of the tree I cut along the tree until it gives way and falls, again done in seconds.
Cutting to size
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The Husqvarna chainsaw sliced through the tree in seconds(Image credit: Future)
The tree was cut to size to fit in my house(Image credit: Future)
The branches at the bottom are cut so it can fit into the stand(Image credit: Future)
Cutting the Christmas tree down was no problem but the next job was cutting it to size.
Normally I would just cut down a smaller tree for my house but I wanted to test the Husqvarna's ability to cut through the tree to make split-able logs.
This again was a smooth process as the Husqvarna's 18-inch bar and 20 m/s cutting speed made work of it in no time.
The final touches were to cut off the larger branches at the bottom of the tree so it can easily be put into our Christmas tree stand. The only step now is to get it into the house, decorate and find some presents to put underneath it.
How the tree is prepared
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The trees are taken to a barn where they are processed for people to take home(Image credit: Future)
A battery-powered chainsaw is used to cut the lower branches on a tree(Image credit: Future)
A billhook is used to cut small branches(Image credit: Future)
The trees are put into wooden stumps so they can stand upright(Image credit: Future)
As this tree would be going up in my house (about 50 yards away) I didn't need to wrap it up like you would normally buy them.
This is done by taking the trees from the field, where they would go into our processing barn where they are cleared of branches using a billhook or battery-powered chainsaw, wrapped up and put onto stumps or stands.
The ends of the trees are placed into a wood shaver so they can be thinned down and hammered into wooden blocks so they can stand up before being thrown into our netting machine ready for people to take home so they don't take up as much room in the car and so they are easy to tie to the roofs of cars.
Overall, the Husqvarna 455 Rancher proved to be a reliable and powerful tool, making quick work of every step involved in cutting down and preparing the Christmas tree.
Its combination of strength, precision and ease of handling ensures it’s well-suited for both occasional tasks like making logs and more demanding tasks like cutting down trees.
The 455 Rancher has earned its place as a top-tier chainsaw for holiday and year-round use, but if you'd rather save on the hassle you can always come down to Woods Farm or order a Christmas tree from us online where we can deliver them around the country.
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News Editor Joseph has previously written for Today’s Media and Chambers & Partners, focusing on news for conveyancers and industry professionals. Joseph has just started his own self build project, building his own home on his family’s farm with planning permission for a timber frame, three-bedroom house in a one-acre field. The foundation work has already begun and he hopes to have the home built in the next year. Prior to this he renovated his family's home as well as doing several DIY projects, including installing a shower, building sheds, and livestock fences and shelters for the farm’s animals. Outside of homebuilding, Joseph loves rugby and has written for Rugby World, the world’s largest rugby magazine.
