Jenny Potter, The Nugget

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​When it comes to Christmas trees - no Charlie Browns here

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Bill Copeman has Christmas on the brain all year round.

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Whether they are spruce, pine or fir, he spends the year out in the fields mowing grass, trimming trees into the classic Christmas tree shape and weeding out the Charlie Browns.

With six varieties of trees grown on their 80-hectare property in Sundridge, Copeman knows the benefits of each tree.

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The Copemans grow scotch, white and red pine, balsam and Fraser fir and white spruce.

A few years ago they added Serbian spruce to the mix. It has short needles with a blue tinge, but most of them aren't ready for cutting yet.

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White pines are the most popular tree, being lightweight and can last for months. Scotch pines and spruce are better for heavier ornaments but needles fall off easier.

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He said their trees also last longer because they cut them fresh every day.

Copeman remembers the days when they used to fill boxcars with thousands of trees and ship them to Florida, New York and Calgary.

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Now they mostly do retail sales and have developed a clientelle that has been coming to them for generations.

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Even his granddaughter, Maiya, just nine months old, was getting an early start Saturday selling trees with Copeman's daughter Jocelyn in the parking lot at Dollar's Your Independent Grocer.

You see people coming back every year and now they are bringing their kids," Bill Copeman said.

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