Commercial Christmas Trees

Artificial spruce and Christmas trees are dense evergreen conifers that hold their structure year-round and carry a display through the season. Retailers, hotels, restaurants and offices buy them as reusable seasonal stock; at home they replace the annual cut tree. Lit and unlit versions are listed separately, so check each product for what is included. For trees you can buy at a listed price, see Christmas Trees, Wreaths & Garland: twenty-nine trees from 10 ft to 20 ft in stock in the US from $2,819, including 16 ft and 20 ft commercial tower trees, delivered free, with an order-by date of Tuesday 1 December.

What is the difference between a spruce and a pine tree?

Needle arrangement, and it changes how the tree reads in a room. Spruce needles attach individually to the branch and radiate all the way around it, which gives the full, bristly, evenly dense profile most people picture as the classic Christmas tree. Pine needles grow in clusters of two to five from a single point, so the foliage is longer, softer and more open, and the branch structure shows through it. Spruce is the choice when you want a solid green cone that holds decorations well and hides the stand. Pine reads more naturalistic and works better as a year-round architectural evergreen. Browse Artificial Pine Trees.

Can artificial spruce trees be used year-round?

Yes, and for commercial buyers it is often the better economics. An undecorated spruce is simply a dense conifer, and it works as permanent structure in a lobby, an atrium corner or beside an entrance for the eleven months nobody is thinking about December. Keep it plain, stand it in a substantial planter rather than a stand and skirt, and it stops reading as seasonal at all. The alternative is to buy for the season and store it, in which case allow proper storage volume: a large tree crushed into a cupboard for eleven months will not open out well the following year.

How to choose the right size

Measure to the ceiling and subtract at least 30 cm for a topper and clearance. The dimension people forget is base diameter: a full spruce is nearly as wide through its lower third as a person is tall, and it needs floor space a narrow hallway will not give it. In retail, size to the sightline from the door rather than to the room, because a tree seen from the street has to be taller than one that only works up close. For lit displays see LED and Lit Trees and Artificial Plants for Retail.

Frequently asked questions

How do these trees go together?

Most ship in sections that stack onto a central pole, with the branches either hinged to swing out from the trunk or tipped and colour-coded for you to insert by row. Larger commercial trees take longer to set up than a home-sized piece, simply because there are more sections and more branches to shape. Start from the bottom section and work up, fluffing each tier before moving to the next.

Is it obvious from the product page whether a tree is pre-lit?

Yes, each product page states whether lights are built in or the tree ships unlit, since the two are listed as separate options rather than left to guess. If a display needs to go up quickly with minimal wiring, filter for the pre-lit versions; if you want full control over the lighting scheme, an unlit tree with your own strand added afterwards is the more flexible choice.

Can these be displayed outdoors for the season?

Several trees on this page list a covered outdoor spot such as an entrance, a courtyard or a covered walkway, and this is stated on the individual product page rather than assumed from the size. Full exposure to open wind and standing water is a different question from a covered spot, so match the stated placement to where the tree will actually stand before committing.

How do we store a large tree between seasons?

Break it back down into its original sections rather than leaving branches attached, and store it upright or flat depending on what the original packaging allows, since a tree crushed into a container smaller than its shipping box will not open out cleanly the following year. Keep it dry and away from extreme temperature swings, and label sections if the tree has more than two or three, since matching them up again months later is easy to get wrong.

How do we get help specifying a large commercial installation?

Larger pieces on this page are set up to be discussed directly rather than bought off the shelf, since height, base type, lighting and delivery access all vary by site. Contact us with the space, the height you are working to and any access constraints, and we will help match a tree to the installation before you order.