Posted on: Sunday, December 26, 2004
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By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist
Something was missing this year.
Remember Norfolk pine Christmas trees?
Tiered, symmetrical, locally grown; they used to be the tree of choice for local families. Even after the Mainland trees started being shipped in, many families opted for the homegrown Norfolk.
No pine needles hopelessly stuck in the Berber carpet.
No frenzied drives from parking lot to parking lot looking for the last $100 tree.
No crispy fire-hazard branches by the second week of December.
Sure, Norfolks didn't have that "Mainland" white Christmas smell, but this isn't the Mainland. Besides, that's what Pier 1 candles are for.
Just a generation ago, Hawai'i families would harvest their Christmas tree from the back yard or plantations would thin out rows of windbreak trees to give to the community. Some folks would keep the same little tree in a pot for years, bringing it in for the holidays (and spraying the bottom for centipedes, just in case).
The egg-carton and construction paper ornaments showed so nicely hanging from the chandelier branches. The top of the tree made its own green star.
Sadly, the Norfolk pine has fallen out of favor.
Other than the 63-foot grande dame fronting Honolulu Hale and the decorated stands of trees along the roadways in Kailua and Nu'uanu, everything else this year was so ... imported.
Picking out the family Christmas tree used to mean an outdoor excursion to a grassy field.
This year's tree search had all the nostalgia of a shipping container, portable tent and some burly guy telling you, "the smallest one we get left is 8 feet."
A few local growers had Norfolk pines available for sale this year, but not nearly as many as in years past. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources used to have a master list of tree nurseries that grew Norfolks for Christmas, but not anymore.
"There's kind of a balance between supply and demand," said DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward. "We do encourage private nurseries to have the Norfolk pines available, but in the minds of the public for many people, a Norfolk pine is what you get when you can't get one of the nice smelling trees ... If the growers are not really assured of the market, do they want to invest in the time spent to grow them?"
There is hope for the return of Hawai'i's Norfolk pine Christmas trees. The Landscape Industry Council of Hawai'i is meeting to consider increasing planting for next year. But the question is, if they grow it, will we buy?
As you pick the ornaments out of the bushy, prickly branches, pluck the needles out of the Berber carpet and sweep the trail of brown tree debris that goes from the living room through the carport to the designated recycling site, ask yourself, was the smell really worth it?
Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8172.
