Omorika (Picea Omorika)
Omorika/Serbian Column tree
Originally the Omorika comes from the Tara Mountains on the borderline between Serbia and Bosnia. Hence the name “Serbian Column Fir” because of its slim format.
A slim and well proportioned Christmas tree
By nature Omorika Christmas Trees are slim and well proportioned with different nuances of colour from green over bluish to almost silvery shade. A layer of wax on the backside of the needles causes this effect. Like the Norway Spruce the Omorika finds it difficult to keep the needles for a longer period. However, when we dig it up with its roots, and plant it in a pot, and remember to water it, it will be possible to have it indoors during the whole of December.
Omorika as a Christmas tree
Different countries have different opinions about the “right” Christmas tree. The current trend goes towards special trees, and the Omorika tree is a natural choice that meets the demand for slim Christmas trees. At the same time we also see a change in the way many families decorate their tree, where we see a switch from candles to electric illumination of the tree. People no longer hang a lot of things on their tree, which is good for the Omorika, since its branches are rather soft and tends to hang down a bit. The well-decorated Omorika Christmas tree is a real beauty.
Benelux Countries
The tradition in those countries is to bring the Christmas tree into the house on the First Sunday in Advent, so that the family have the whole month of December to enjoy and admire their Christmas tree. To that purpose, it is essential to have the Omorika tree in a pot and to water it occasionally. Very few growers of Omorika in Denmark offer trees in a pot, so this has opened for us the market in Holland and Belgium. The challenge is to accommodate the demand for trees from 40 cm up to 2 meters. We solved the problem with our new machine to master the whole process of digging, potting, netting, and palleting the trees.
Working with Omorika Christmas trees
Every year we plant many new Omorika Christmas trees. We send the seeds to a nursery in Germany, where the baby plants get the very best treatment. This ensures that we receive the best quality of plants. Omorika seeds are often hard to come by, since the old trees do not every year deliver sufficient cones.
After the first year, we begin to shape the Omorika tree. By nature, it is a slim tree, but we make it even better by cutting it into shape – several times – before we dig it up or fell it. Omorika is an easy fellow to work with, as it has a good annual increment and willingly produces a new leader. The Danish climate may be troublesome for the growing of Christmas trees, as we often experience frost in the late spring. This causes the destruction of the new, fresh buts. Omorika has a somewhat later opening, and is less vulnerable to the late frost.
