It's time to pine for festive trees

Roaming the aisles for the perfect pressie is not unheard of, but how about for the perfect tree?
Lenie and Paul Priebe own the Papamoa Christmas Tree Farm beside State Highway Two and for 18 years have growing "hundreds" of "fat, bushy" pines that grow up to 1.8m. They opened the farm when their kids were little after being stumped in efforts to find a perfect rounded pine.
The Priebes decided to grow purpose-built trees and now every year families full of festive cheer traipse through their 2.8ha section, which is planted half with avocados and half with rows of Christmas trees.
"Some were little kids when they came with their parents. Now they're grown up and we see them back with their own families," Mrs Priebe said.
The Christmas Tree Fram opened at Labour Weekend, and trees could be tagged to pick up at a later date. Mrs Priebe said some collected their tree on December 12, others on Christmas Eve. "Everyone has their traditions."
Some people took a few minutes to choose a tree, others took an hour. "One lady the other day, I was just about to go looking for her. There's a big choice," she said.
The Priebes used pinus radiata seedlings that produced branches closely all the way up the trunk, and they trimmed the trees five times a year. Some of their trees were up to four years old and a chainsaw was only used when a sale was made.
Mrs Priebe's tip for a top Christmas tree was to place it in water with a Disprin or two every week, and it could last for up to a month.
Meanwhile, friends Gareth Miles and Scott Keene have been selling Christmas trees on the side of Devonport Rd for the company xmastrees.co.nz since Thursday.
Mr Keene said their hand-pruned trees, which were trucked down from Northland, came with a free nutrient sachet, plus Christmas wrapping paper and cards. Prices ranged from $45 to $60.
The men were expecting a "big load" of new trees this weekend and next and were manning their stand from 10am-8pm daily.
The Papamoa Christmas Tree Farm is on SH2 at Papamoa. Open from 8.30am to 6pm every day. Trees range in price from $10 to $60. Elsewhere, you can buy real trees on the side of the road - www.xmastrees.co.nz is selling them in Devonport Rd or on the corner of Papamoa Beach and Domain Rds.