Evergreen conifers, fresh from Michigan

Rick Schmuckal EVAN WILLIAMS/FLORIDA WEEKLY Rick Schmuckal goes out of town every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas to sell his Douglas firs, Frazier firs, Colorado blue spruce and Black Hills spruce in North Fort Myers. His three children and wife stay behind in Traverse City, Mich., on the 95-acre Charles Schmuckal Christmas Tree Farm. He has run the farm with his sister and brother since their father, for whom the operation is named, died 12 years ago.

People in Traverse City can go to the farm and cut down their own tree. But every November, Mr. Schmuckal drives in his aging RV for about 25 hours to an empty grass lot, a quarter mile west of U.S. 41 on Pondella Road. There, a 53-foot truckload of his trees is delivered. Mr. Schmuckal works a few intense 14-hour days unloading the harvest and setting up for business just in time for Thanksgiving. He has done this for the past 10 years and sometimes brings a friend — someone who was laid off from a seasonal job, or has a free month to spend in Florida — but for the last three years, he has come alone to sell the trees.

They come out of the refrigerated truck bed fresh and cold, a few tickly branches still caked with snow, Mr. Schmuckal said. He has spent the rest of the year growing the evergreen conifers or replanting them, pruning them, defending them against diseases like needlecast, a fungus that makes the branches go bald; or gypsy moth — "one of North America's most devastating forest pests," according to the U.S. Forest Service. There is a quarantine on the moths in Michigan, so Mr. Schmuckal has to get a permit to take his trees out of the state.

However, he said, "The biggest struggle is to get a good top on them." (A good top has one "central leader" that sticks straight up, the perfect spot to place the angel or star.)

Mr. Schmuckal, 40, looks carved from a lifestyle of daily hard work, in frozen winters and muddy summers. He's built like a football player, with clear eyes, ruddy cheeks and the gentle, sweet manner people who aren't from the Midwest sometimes mistake for a pushover.

By the time his trees are ready to cut down and ship to Florida they have been nurtured for about six years on the farm, which makes them 5 to 6 feet tall. (If left to grow, they could reach heights of up to 40 feet). Even now, on the grass lot where he is selling his harvest, Mr. Schmuckal often recognizes exactly which parts of his property individual trees came from.

"It's amazing," he said. "Some people just think you go out in the woods and cut them down. These are groomed and brought here for this purpose."

On a recent Saturday evening at dusk, when families walked through Mr. Schmuckal's rootless evergreen forest looking for the perfect tree, the ultra-clean, pungent smell of pine was in the air.

"That's usually the Frazier fir they're smelling," Mr. Schmuckal said.

It tends to retain sap longer after being cut, so it's more aromatic and holds its needles longer as a result. The Frazier's branches are also more loosely layered, which make it easier to string lights on or hang ornaments. The Douglas fir's branches and needles are appealingly dense.

The Colorado blue spruce and Black Hill spruce are less expensive because they don't require as much attention on the farm. The blue spruce is one of the most traditional Christmas trees, with its blue tint.

"A gorgeous tree," Mr. Schmuckal said, although the needles dry up and fall off more quickly. "It's a give and take." The trees range from about $35 to $195.

The yearly trek to Florida is also a give and take for Mr. Schmuckal, who said he's missing his children, 6, 8 and 11, and home-cooked meals — although two families brought him Thanksgiving dinner this year. His brother is home selling trees at the farm in Michigan and his brotherin law also bottles and sells maple syrup there. (Mr. Schmuckal brought some of that to Florida as well.)

"Being away from family is the toughest," he said. "Especially this last week."

He'll pack up his trees on Thursday night and before he leaves on Friday, donate the leftovers to a Greek Orthodox Monastery in Fort Myers.

Mr. Schmuckal spends most of his visit to Florida working. Although he hasn't had a lot of time to enjoy the beaches or other tourist attractions, he's become a seasonal regular at Jersey's Sports Bar & Grill and finished up his Christmas shopping at the Edison Mall and the Bell Tower Shops.

A highlight this year was catching the reaction of a couple of Southwest Florida kids who were drawn to the snow on some of the trees he had just unloaded. They had never seen snow before, but immediately knew what to do with it.

Before it dripped off the branches into the warm, sandy soil, "They had a little snowball fight," Mr. Schmuckal said. It was probably the only one for hundreds of miles around.