Pleasant View Tree Farm has the perfect holiday tree

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
WAITING FOR YOU — Rob and Tammie Mulvey of Hodgdon are the owners of Pleasant View Tree Farms, featuring “cut-your-own” trees, as well as pre-cut trees, wreaths and kissing balls. The Mulveys have sold Christmas trees since 1997, opening their Calais Road location in 2002. For more information on the business, call 532-4769.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HODGDON — Nothing sets the tone for the holidays like the look and smell of a balsam fir tree decorated with lights, ornaments and ribbons sitting in your living room or den.
    But the search for that perfect tree can sometimes take hours. Thankfully, there are people like Rob and Tammie Mulvey to assist.
    The Mulveys are owners of Pleasant View Tree Farms on 1190 Calais Road in Hodgdon and they know a thing or two about trees. For the past four years, the couple has run a “choose and cut” tree farm from their home.
    “We started a tree farm in 1997, but they were not our trees,” Rob explained. “At that point, we were living on someone else’s tree farm. In 2002, we moved to this location and started planting trees. There weren’t any other ‘choose your own’ tree farms in the area, so we figured we would start one. It’s a good family tradition for people. We have families that come out and spend an hour or so searching for just the right tree.”
    For those that don’t want to cut their own tree, there are numerous pre-cut trees on-hand and ready to go.
    The Mulveys have customers hailing from around southern Aroostook, Penobscot and Washington counties, including Patten, Sherman, Danforth, and have even had families from Mars Hill come to pick a tree.
    “Sometimes we’ll have families come out with a couple of kids and each one of them is standing at a different tree,” Tammie said. “It’s fun watching them trying to decide which tree to get. A lot of people bring their cameras and take photos. We love it.”
    Rob got his start with harvesting trees at Robinson Lumber in Searsmont. When, he left that company, he went to work for himself, planting and shearing trees. Eventually, he started planting his own trees to sell.
    A wealth of time is spent grooming seedlings until they are mature enough to be harvested. The Mulveys plant about 20,000 seedlings a year and currently own more than 100,000 trees scattered around 14 locations in the area. At their Calais Road home, there are roughly 1,700 trees when fully planted.
    Every year, each tree has to be sprayed with herbicide to kill the grass underneath it. Mowing, fertilizing and spraying for insects make tree harvesting a year-round adventure. After the first year, trees are then “tipped” to get a straight line for the stem. By the third year, shearing takes place to further shape the tree into the perfect Christmas tree design.
    “We keep shearing them once a year until they are ready to sell,” Rob said.
    Trees come in a variety of sizes. The largest stand 12 feet high, while the most common size is a 6-foot tree. They grow about a foot each year.
    “Realistically, people always seem to buy a tree that is too big for their house,” Rob said. “People have trouble visualizing how big the tree is when it’s outside.”
    Should a customer get home with their tree and find that it is too tall to fit, Rob suggests trimming branches and the stem from the bottom until the tree reaches the desired height.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
MORE THAN TREES — Pleasant View Tree Farms offers more than just Christmas trees. The Mulveys have a variety of wreaths in various sizes and shapes, as well as “treelings” potted in Santa boots or other pots to be planted in the spring.
    While there are a variety of trees commonly used as Christmas trees, the Mulveys only sell Balsam Firs on their farm.
    “Some people like Scotch Pine trees, and others like Fraser Fir, but we have had the best luck with Balsam Firs,” Rob said.
    As the trees at their Calais Road home were growing, the Mulveys sold pre-cut trees from a second tree farm they own in Hodgdon. The “choose-and-cut” business started four years ago and has grown steadily as word of mouth spread.
    Choosing a real tree over an artificial one, aside from just looking nicer, actually helps the environment, the Mulveys said because not only do trees produce oxygen, they are also a renewable resource.
    “And you can’t duplicate the smell of a real tree,” Tammie said. “You can try with sprays and candles, but it’s not the same.”
    Pleasant View Tree Farm traditionally opens the day after Thanksgiving. They also sell trees wholesale and have already started taking orders for next season.
    “We ship trees to other retailers downstate and sometimes out of state,” Rob said.
    Because of the warm fall temperatures this year, the number of brown needles found on trees is a bit higher this year, Tammie said.
    “A tree actually sheds a certain amount of needles each year,” she explained. “Because of the delayed cold weather, there are more needles being shed.”
    Each tree that is purchased is placed inside a special machine to shake any loose, dead needles off of it before it is bundled for transport.
    If watered properly, which means checking the level every morning and night, a fresh-cut tree can easily last through the holiday season. While there are a number of “wives tales” about additives that can be placed in the water of a tree to prolong its life, the Mulveys have found most of them are simply not true.
    “All you need is water and the first week is key,” Tammie said. “That is when they take in the most water, so be sure to water them two or three times a day. The bigger tree stand is better as it will hold more water.”
    In addition to Christmas trees, the Mulveys also sell wreaths, kissing balls and small, potted treelings that can be used as centerpieces or planted in a yard.
Trees for Troops
    The Mulveys also participate in the Trees for Troops program, which sends Christmas trees to people in the armed forces. Some are sent overseas to those in the active military, while most are sent to the families of those serving.
    Trees for Troops began in 2005 when the National Christmas Tree Association developed the plan for a nationwide program, unifying tree growers around the country. Last year, 17,224 trees from 700 tree farms in 28 participating states were delivered to military personnel and to date, the program has provided 83,957 trees.
    The Mulveys send about 25 trees each year from their farm to the Maine Christmas Tree Association. For more information about the Trees for Troops program, visit www.christmasspiritfoundation.org.
    Because the tree farm is located at their home, trees can be purchased seven days a week, until 7 p.m. For more information about Pleasant View Tree Farm, call 532-4769.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
WRAP IT UP — Rob Mulvey, owner of Pleasant View Tree Farm in Hodgdon watches as a tree gets wrapped up for shipping Friday afternoon. The “cut-your-own” tree farm opened Nov. 26 and has seen a steady stream of customers.