A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 20 2003 Spectacular Christmas Trees Have Roots In Pennsylvania KENNETT SQUARE (Chest er Co.) They might not be as famous as the Christmas trees in Rockefeller Center or at the White House, but for Berks County’s DeLong Christmas Tree Farm, the Christmas trees they supply each year to Long wood Gardens are every bit as special. The farm's Douglas and Fraser fir trees are an important part of Longwood’s breathtaking holiday display of exquisite decorations, brilliant poinsettias, fragrant flowers, and living wreaths. The lavish floral and tree displays, plus sparkling lights, fountains and festive music, draws a steady stream of visitors to the world-fa mous Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, near Philadel phia. Longwood Gardens, one of the world’s premier horticultural showplaces, hosts thousands of visitors to its Christmas spectac ular each year. Longwood offers 1,050 acres of gardens, wood lands, and meadows; 20 outdoor gardens: and 20 indoor gardens within four acres of heated green houses. Since 1989, DeLong Christmas Tree Farm has been the exclusive supplier of Christmas trees to Longwood Gardens. Steve Custer runs the family-owned and operated farm in partnership with his wife, Jean, and his in laws, Tom and Ann DeLong. The farm has been in the DeLong family since 1941. This year, they pro \ ided 47 trees to Long wood Gardens for their annual Christ mas display, including two massive trees that top 20 feet. The trees are lavishly decorated and displayed throughout the Con servatory and green houses The focal point is Longwood's signature tree, a spectacular 20-foot-tall revolving Douglas fir adorned with garlands of silver larch branches and fern fronds studded with red berries and lotus pods and hun dreds of red glass balls and metal icicles. It sits in the Conservato ry amid a river of bril liant red poinsettias. T ree selection for the holiday display starts in September when a master garden er from Longwood makes the one-hour trip to the Berks County farm to choose the trees. Armed with a pick list which de tails the size and vari ety of trees required, he usually spends a half-day tramping through the farm’s neatly ordered rows to find the trees that will meet Longwood’s ex acting specifications. The trees are cut in mid-November, and transported to Long wood in four trucks. While professional designers decorate most of the 47 trees, local elementary schools also partici pate in the festivities by decorating trees that are displayed in the greenhouses. “One of the harder lecting the trees that will be de corated by the elementary school children,” said Steve Custer. “We need to find 24 perfectly match ed, 4-foot Fraser fir trees. Long wood demands that those trees be as uniform as possible.” Custer says the weather this year was especially favorable for growing outstanding quality trees. “The drought and heat of the last few years were tough on the trees. But this year, the weather was ideal. Even though the abun dant rainfall meant we had to do more mowing than usual, it pro vided the trees with excellent moisture as we headed into har vest. An early cold snap provided the hard freeze that the trees needed to stay fresh after they were cut.” In addition to commercial cus tomers, including the Congres sional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., DeLong Christmas Tree Farm also has a thriving retail business with trees, wreaths, and stands available in a huge new (Turn to Page A 23) protection that gives you a clean, reliable cut And on 7 Series Round Balers, Cover Edge ” net wrap locks in nutrients and repels water to keep your bales fresh and packed with nutrients Plus, John Deere has an extensive line of rakes and tedders, wmdrowers, and forage harvesters loaded with features designed to help you make high-quality hay and forage Log on to www JohnDeereAg com or see your local John Deere dealer to find out how John Deere hay and forage equipment can give your cows better nutrition and you better herd performance, L J| Jk| tar- • 1 Ik . 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