A farm in New Jersey produces and sells bright rainbow Christmas trees and the holidays just got a whole jollier.
Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm sits on sixty-five acres of land in Belvidere, New Jersey and has been growing Christmas trees since 1958, with production currently being overseen by John Wyckoff Jr.
While the family farm produces over 5,000 regular trees in five different species each season – Douglas Fir, Blue Spruce, Concolor Fir, Fraser Fir and Victorian Fir – they became famous for being the original colored tree farm.
Rainbow: Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm in Belvidere, New Jersey grows and sells rainbow Christmas trees
Spray paint: The rainbow trees are not magically colored, they’re sprayed with Kirk Specialty Colorant, which is a latex based paint
Safe: Wyckoff’s believes the colorant is safe, but there are factors that affect coverage such as wind, temperature, method of application, and size of the tree
Different hues of vibrant pink, purple, dark blue, light blue, turquoise, magenta, or white are offered at a price of $12 per foot, plus tax for a cut-your-own-tree. All of them are while supplies last and are sold on a first come, first served basis.
Or, if you buy a colorful shrub at retail price, already cut, it can cost you a mere $25 flat fee for a five foot painted tree.
In order to get the vibrant shades, the trees are sprayed with a special colorant. The farm uses Kirk Specialty Colorant, which is a latex based paint specifically formulated for Christmas Trees and the farm claim their ‘colorants to be safe.’
From the needles to the branches, every inch and angle of the shrubbery is covered in the colorful dye, because the farm uses approximately 1 quart of paint per tree, (about five to six feet tall each), three to four trees per gallon and eight to ten trees per two and a half gallon jug.
The farm explains on their site exactly how they apply the dye: ‘The best way we have found to apply the colorant is with a pump-up (pressure) sprayer with an 80-03 tip.
‘We do NOT recommend using backpack sprayers due to their high risk of clogging up.’
Family: John Jr. Wyckoff, pictured with his family, owns and runs Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm, which produces over 5,000 trees each season
Trees: The trees come in five different species and cost $12 per foot, plus tax
Hurry: They’re only available while supplies last and are first come, first served
‘One of the most efficient application methods, is to use the airless sprayer to quickly and lightly circle the tree and then follow up using a hand sprayer to touch up and fill in where the airless may not have covered,’ they continued.
As for application tips, ‘be sure to use proper Protective equipment such as gloves, safety glasses, and face mask.
‘Do NOT paint trees in the high heat of summer for winter retail. Make sure to wear clothing meant for painting as there may be overspray that can get on clothing. Use a drop cloth under the tree to prevent the ground from overspray.
‘Do not apply in windy or wet conditions. The wind will cause overspray to nearby trees and result in over consumption of colorant.
‘Drying time is approximately two hours and is weather dependent. Once fully dry the paint should not flake off.’
Although Wyckoff’s believes the colorants they use are safe, they do explain that there are a lot of factors that affect coverage such as wind, temperature, method of application, and size of the tree.
The site also shared, ‘We have found the colorant to affect different species of trees differently – the Fraser, Grand, Noble, Douglas that we painted last season produced new growth this year with no apparent affect.’
Effects: Each tree species is affected differently by the colorant, but are all safe
Purple: After buying a purple Christmas tree from Wyckoff’s, this Instagram user showed off their colorful holiday tree in their home
Application: The colorant is is applied with a pump-up (pressure) sprayer and uses approximately 1 quart of paint per tree
However, the species that was affected was the Black Hills Spruce, which had ‘second year needle loss where tree was painted, but the tree did produce new growth.’
Colorants are not new to Christmas tree farms. In fact, growers of traditional green trees often use colorants and they spray the trees with an FDA-approved liquid acrylic colorant.
Due to the fact that growers cannot control how green their trees will grow to be, they spray them with a green colorant.
Ralph Nilssen, owner of Kirk Company, the Christmas tree products company Wyckoff’s uses on their farm, told Country Living, ‘to improve marketability and provide the Christmas green color that people desire,’
‘Colorants are very safe, they’re non-toxic to anybody who were to put it in their mouth. They basically are to enhance the color of the tree, and then they offer some protection also in that they seal the needles of the tree so it doesn’t lose as much water inside the tree,’ Nilssen continued.
Rainbow trees aren’t the only wacky holiday trend people have been trying out lately. Upside-down Christmas trees are taking over hotel lobbies, malls, and homes all over the world.
There’s never a dull moment when it comes to the holidays and people are getting into the spirit anyway they can.