DECATUR - Seven-year-old Hailey Wilson was overjoyed at being able to pick out her own Christmas tree last weekend.

She took the 2½-foot white pine home to decorate.

Hailey had joined her grandparents, Jack and Patty Wilson, on their venture of looking at trees for Christmas while at 4 E's Trees & Nursery in Mount Zion.

They did tag a 6-foot white pine and will return Dec. 5 to pick it up.

The Wilsons live in Macon and have gotten live trees for Christmas the past 35 years.

"We like the smell of pine, and it makes a homey Christmas having a live tree," said Jack Wilson, who tries to get a different type of tree every other year.

4 E's Trees & Nursery at 5651 Traughber Road in Mount Zion has a variety of trees. The Scotch and white pine trees tend to be more popular and grow well in the Central Illinois climate, said Ron Evans, 4E's president and owner.

He said the Friday after Thanksgiving is the busiest day for the holiday tree shopping, but he has had a few customers come to the farm earlier in the month to tag their trees for pickup later.

"Our tagging has been off 90 percent within the last 10 years," he explains. "Now people just want to come out and select a tree and have it cut down."

When it comes to the more popular trees, Evans said, people tend to go for the white pine because of their softer needles. The Scotch pine also is a nice, full tree with pricklier, sharper needles.

Evans added that the beautiful Colorado spruce is the most-wanted tree, but he doesn't suggest using them as a Christmas tree in your living room. These spruce trees have limited needle retention and do better for landscaping, he said.

Evans also imports balsam furs from Wisconsin. They are another highly-sought-after tree.

"We recommend the balsam because they are the old-fashioned, traditional Christmas tree. It has a nice aroma, excellent needle retention and is a relatively light tree," Evans said.

He said sales were down last year because of bad weather that kept people from getting out to tree farms.

This year, if the weather holds up and remains warm, it could be a good season for all tree farms.

Judy and Dick Engdale who own Engdale Farms in Taylorville are betting on the weather to bring in the customers this weekend.

"So far the weather has been nice, and people came out to the farm to tag their trees at the beginning of November. We closed for a week last year because of the snow and ice and had to wait for the trees to thaw," Judy Engdale said.

She then laughed and said, "I hope now we don't get any snow until after Christmas."

Despite if it will be a white Christmas or not, people prefer live trees for the holiday, Engdale believes.

"Most customers like the freshness and smell of live trees," she said, adding the scotch and white pines are the biggest sellers on her farm.

"You have more older people who like artificial trees because it's less work. But families come to the farm and bring their children, who like running through the trees and having a good time."

Engdale does advise watering the trees every day with just plain water.

Too often she hears of people putting sugar or bleach in the water to make the trees last longer, but this is not a good idea.

Mike Jacobs, owner of Glenview Tree Farm in Argenta, also will be offering customers suggestions during the busy tree-buying weekend.

He said his 50-acre farm has a nice selection of Scotch pine and Canaan fir trees.

"I have had customers switch over from Scotch pine to the Canaan fir," Jacobs said. "Scotch pine grows more crooked and has longer limbs on the south side of the tree that gets more sun, which makes it heavier on the one side. Where Canaan fir grows straight and has the same length of branches all around the tree and softer needles."

Jacobs said another service he offers is to dig the trees with its roots wrapped in burlap, called "balled." But this costs extra.

This way, the tree, after being inside the house no longer than a week, can be replanted outside, he said.

It all goes back to conserving our natural resources - the trees that Mother Nature has created, according to horticulture experts.

"Families thinking 'green' this holiday may want to consider purchasing a live Christmas tree that can be planted outside," said Richard Hentschel with the University of Illinois Extension Cook County. "Planning ahead for when the tree will be planted outdoors will be critical if you want to enjoy the tree in your home landscape for many years to come."

Hentschel said people should only purchase balled and burlapped evergreen trees that can be replanted.

And he also warns that the tree should only remain in the home for a limited time, no more than a few days before and after Christmas, so it doesn't break winter dormancy and start to grow. If the tree gets warmed up from being inside, it could damage or even kill the tree later.

Hentschel adds, "You can place the B-and-B (balled and burlapped) tree into a large watertight container of your choosing, filling the container with a moist potting soil or shredded peat moss to support the ball. The potting soil or peat moss will prevent the soil ball from drying out. This also acts as insulation, keeping the soil ball from warming up, allowing the tree to remain dormant."

Evans agrees that because everyone is on the "green" kick as he puts it, "Live trees are more ecologically-friendly."

"They can be recycled and can decompose into mulch very easily," he said.

sheilas@herald-review.com|421-7963

Tree tips

* Watch for trees that were cut in early to mid-October and tend to be very dry.

* Cut at least ¼ inch off the tree's trunk for a fresh cut.

* To check if a pine tree is too dry, bend a needle and if it breaks rather then bends, it is too dry to have in your house.

* To check shorter needle trees, grasp a branch and pull toward you. If the needles fall off, the tree is too dry.

- Source: Ron Evans, president of 4 E's Trees & Nursery Inc.