Brno non-profit organisation the Veronica Foundation has formed a partnership with the Masaryk Forestry School Company in Křtiny (ŠLP Křtiny) for a new project selling potted Christmas trees, which can then be replanted after Christmas in the Mendel University forest. The sales of the potted trees start today, and replanting will take place in March 2025.
Foresters are working to restore white firs to the local forests, said Petra Packová, manager of the Křtiny arboretum: “The white fir is our original shade-tolerant species. In the time before industrialization, in the 18th century, these trees made up 10-30% of the mountainous areas of our forests. After the Second World War, its representation fell below 5%. The main culprits were large-scale felling, desiccation of the landscape, industrial waste, and damage from overpopulated animals.”
The white fir is among the most demanding trees to grow, as the seedling requires four to five years to grow strong. “We get the seeds for sowing from our forests, from recognized stands for the collection of forest trees,” said Vít Formánek, forest nurseries technician. “A tree climber goes for pine cones in the treetops. The seed is shelled, cleaned and sorted. Clean seeds are further stratified, pre-germinated, in moisture and cold. We then sow them in prepared beds with substrate. After two years, we transfer the seedlings to planters and grow seedlings from them. When they are about 25 centimetres, we will transplant them into larger pots and grow them so that next year they will be happy as a small Christmas tree in a pot.”
“The Plant your own Christmas tree project makes a lot of sense to us,” said Packová. “The owner of the plant celebrates Christmas with it and then has to take care of it until mid-March, when it is planted in the forest. Once you plant a tree, you look at the forest differently. It’s your tree, you often return to those places to check how it’s doing.”
The Veronica Foundation started selling potted Christmas trees 26 years ago, and co-operates with other Brno environmental organisations for distribution. Sales are beginning today at the foundation’s sales points around Brno, including: Palackého třída 25, Pekařská 38, Štolcova 465, Lipka Jezírko Soběšice 97, Lipová 20, Rozmarýnová 6, and the YMCA at Kounicova 3.
The joint replanting of the trees in the forest is planned for 15 March 2025, from 9:30 am to 12 pm, near the Křtiny Arboretum. According to Packová, ŠLP Křtiny will provide equipment for the planting, as well as advice on the planting procedure to give the tree the best possible chance to thrive.
