How to Grow Your Own Christmas Tree From Seed (And How Long It Really Takes)
Somewhere in a field right now, there is a Norway spruce that will be someone's Christmas tree in 2034. It is about eight inches tall. It has no idea.
That is the honest version of this story, and it is a better one than the version where a seed becomes a tree by December. You can absolutely grow a Christmas tree from seed. What you get this winter is a sprout. What you get in a decade is a tree. Both of those are worth doing. The first one is easy.
Here is what actually happens, how long each part takes, and what a first-year spruce needs from you.
Can you really grow a Christmas tree from seed?
Yes. Norway spruce, Picea abies, is the classic Christmas tree in Britain and one of the most widely planted conifers in the world. It grows from ordinary seed. There is nothing exotic about it.
The part people get wrong is the clock. Our own kit page puts time to maturity at ten years and up. The National Christmas Tree Association lands in the same place: eight to eleven years to bring a Norway spruce to six or seven feet. Across all species the average is about seven years, and some take fifteen.
So this is a long project. It is also a very forgiving one to start.
How long does each stage take?
This is the table worth screenshotting.
| When | What you will see |
|---|---|
| 2 to 6 weeks | First sprouts. Tiny green whiskers, then real needles. Some take closer to two months. |
| End of year 1 | A few inches of soft seedling. Still delicate. |
| Around year 3 | Roughly 10 to 14 inches, based on nursery seedling averages. |
| 8 to 11 years | Six to seven feet. An actual Christmas tree. |
Six weeks is a completely normal wait for the first sprout. If nothing has happened at week three, nothing is wrong.
The bit that makes spruce easy to start
Plenty of tree seeds come with homework. Weeks in the fridge before you are allowed to begin.
This one does not. The instructions in the box send you straight to the windowsill, and there is a reason that works. The US Forest Service notes that Norway spruce seed germinates readily with no pretreatment at all.
Here is the whole method, exactly as it comes with the kit:
- Dissolve the growing medium pellet in 3/4 cup of water and fluff it with a fork.
- Tip it into the basin.
- Sow the seeds a quarter inch deep and cover lightly. Deeper is not better.
- Warm, bright spot with air moving around it. Around 75 degrees is the sweet spot.
- Keep it moist, never waterlogged.
- Once the seedling has its second set of needles, start feeding at half strength.
No drainage hole in the basin? Drill one in the bottom center. Everything you need is in the tin.
The spec sheet, straight off the kit
| Spruce (Picea abies) | |
|---|---|
| Sowing depth | 1/4 inch |
| Germination temperature | 75 degrees |
| Time to germinate | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Light | Full sun |
| Growing zones | 2 to 7 |
| Full grown height | 25 to 30 feet |
| Time to maturity | 10 years and up |
What year one actually looks like
Your seedling wants light, steady moisture and room to breathe. Bright but gentle beats a hot south-facing window in July. A brand new sprout burns easily.
Keep the growing medium damp and never soggy. Once the seedling has its second set of needles, you can start feeding it at half strength.
Do not rush it into a bigger pot. Nursery growers keep spruce in protected beds for two or three years before transplanting. You have time.
When winter comes, a potted seedling needs help. Iowa State Extension puts it plainly: container roots are far less cold hardy than the parts above the soil. The easiest fix is to sink the whole pot into garden soil for the winter. An unheated garage between 20 and 45 degrees works too. Water it before the ground freezes and again when it thaws.
No outdoor space at all? Then a spruce is the wrong tree for you, and that is a fine thing to find out now. Our herb kits live happily on a windowsill forever.
Can it just live indoors?
No, and this is the one place where the pretty version of this story falls apart.
Spruce is built for four seasons. It needs a real winter chill to reset each year. Extension services agree on what happens when a conifer stays warm indoors. It loses its winter dormancy. A tree that has lost dormancy gets hurt when it finally meets cold air. NC State Extension recommends keeping a living Christmas tree indoors for no more than a week to ten days. Purdue says three to five days.
Start it indoors. Grow it up outdoors. That is the whole rule.
Where Norway spruce is happy
Zones 2 through 7. That is what our own kit lists, and NC State Extension agrees. It is much happier at the cold end of that range. It dislikes heat, wet feet and hot dry summers, and it does poorly in zone 7 in the southern US.
Translation: if you are in the northern half of the country or up in the hills, this tree will love you. Gulf Coast, Deep South and the hot Southwest are a genuine stretch.
Three ways beginners lose a spruce seedling
- Too much water. Soggy growing medium invites damping off, a soil fungus that collapses seedlings at the soil line. Penn State Extension's advice is simple: sterile medium, clean containers, good airflow, and do not crowd the pot.
- Too much sun, too soon. Bright, not blazing, for the first few months.
- Too long indoors. See above. A warm living room in February is the slow version of the problem.
A few things we liked learning
- Norway spruce has the largest cones of any spruce.
- Spruce seed stored cold and dry has stayed viable for seventeen years.
- A wild spruce does not usually make its own first cones until it is thirty or forty years old.
- For every real Christmas tree harvested in the US, growers plant one to three new seedlings the following spring.
Which kit to start with
All three grow the same Norway spruce. The difference is what you want on the other end.
| Kit | Good for |
|---|---|
| Christmas Tree-To-Be Mini Basin | One tree, one tin. The easiest place to begin. |
| Spruce Tree Mini Terracotta, 12 pack | Stocking fillers, party favors, a whole classroom. |
| Spruce Bonsai Complete Set | Keeping it small on purpose, with the tools to shape it. |
Every one is covered by our Guaranteed to Grow promise. If your seeds do not come up, we will replace the seed packet for free.
Start it this month and you will have a seedling before the holidays. Not a tree. A start. Ten years from now someone in your house gets to say they grew the thing in the corner. Better story than a receipt.
Keep reading
Bonsai Tree Starter Kits: An Honest Guide to Growing a Bonsai from Seed · How To Maintain Your Bonsai Tree (Spruce) · A Gardening Gift for Everyone on Your List · Summer is Winding Down. Your Herb Garden Doesn't Have To
Sources
- Buzzy Seeds Christmas Tree-To-Be Mini Basin Grow Kit (kit instructions and spec sheet)
- National Christmas Tree Association, Norway Spruce (8 to 11 years to a 6 to 7 foot tree, largest cones of any spruce)
- National Christmas Tree Association, Quick Tree Facts (7 year average across species, 1 to 3 seedlings planted per tree harvested)
- US Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System, Picea abies (germinates without pretreatment, first cones at 30 to 40 years)
- US Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual, Picea (17 year seed storage viability)
- NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, Picea abies (zones 2a to 7b, dislikes heat and wet feet)
- NC State Extension, Selection and Care of Living Christmas Trees (a week to ten days indoors, dormancy loss)
- Purdue University Extension, Living Christmas Trees (three to five days indoors)
- Penn State Extension, Safeguard Your Seedlings from Damping Off
- Iowa State University Extension, Overwintering Unplanted Trees and Shrubs
- Iowa DNR State Forest Nursery, Norway Spruce (3 year seedling height)