Contact: Marsha Gray
517-545-9971
Kirsten Borgstrom
517-331-3433
Campaign: Make it a REAL Michigan Christmas
Details:
The Michigan Christmas Tree Association, Michigan Floriculture Growers Council and Michigan Floral Association, in cooperation with Michigan State University Department of Horticulture, AgBioResearch (formerly Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station), are encouraging Michigan residents to Make it a Real Michigan Christmas this holiday season.
Getting in the true holiday spirit and helping to support Michigan Christmas tree and poinsettia growers has never been easier! Simply choose to buy real, Michigan-grown Christmas trees and poinsettias this season and you will be doing your part and creating holiday memories and traditions for years to come.
Makes Scents
Pine scented candles or room spray may offer an aroma reminiscent of that real Christmas tree, but if you want to enjoy the true fragrance of a fresh Christmas tree, nothing can replicate the scent of a real tree. Michigan produces the largest variety of Christmas tree species, so why not take some time to stop and smell the pines or spruces or firs?
In addition to enhancing the holiday air, it has been well documented that people benefit from interactions with plants; they help to create a calm and inviting atmosphere and also evoke joy, and who couldn’t use a little help with all of those emotions around the holidays? It really is as simple as picking up a real poinsettia. Contrary to popular belief, poinsettias are not poisonous. The misconception is based on an unfounded story from 1919 and has continued to perpetuate incorrect information for nearly a century. Numerous studies have been conducted and all have concluded that poinsettias are not poisonous. Like many other household plants, they can have ill affects if ingested, in fact a study from Ohio State University showed that a fifty pound child who ate 500 bracts (leaves) might suffer a slight stomach ache (who wouldn’t?).
Poinsettias and fresh Christmas trees in the home actually provide great (or important) benefits, as they help to increase levels of fresh air and lessen environmental pollution, working to remove the presence of every day toxic chemicals that exist all around us. Real Christmas trees and poinsettias are the fresh, fragrant and natural choice.
Makes Cents
Wandering the aisles of a big retailer surveying a forest of fake plastic trees may seem like a cost saving measure, but at what price? Not only is nostalgia taking a hit, because nothing says Christmas like dusting off the plastic poinsettia every year, but not buying real poinsettias or Christmas trees also has a negative impact on the state’s economy.
Currently, Michigan ranks third in the U.S. in the number of trees harvested, and seventh in poinsettia production. In Michigan there are nearly 700 Christmas tree growers, who harvest approximately three million fresh Christmas trees annually and 54 (USDA 2010 season) poinsettia growers, who produced 2.3 million plants last year.
Makes Sense
For every real Christmas tree harvested, up to three seedlings are planted in its place the following spring. It takes an average of eight years before a tree is ready for harvest, and taller trees can take as long as 15 years. When you choose a fresh tree or poinsettia you reap environmental benefits – real trees are renewable and recyclable. Artificial trees and poinsettias contain non-biodegradable plastics and possible metal toxins, including lead. Really shouldn’t the only chance chemical encounter around the holidays be receiving a lump of coal?
By choosing real Michigan grown Christmas trees and poinsettias this holiday, you’re supporting Michigan growers and making a choice this is good for your health, environment and pocket book. Not to mention honoring holiday traditions and creating lifelong memories.
To find out more about the Make it a Real Michigan Christmas initiative, please visit www.RealMichiganChristmas.com or like us on Facebook.
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