MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. — The owners of a Monongalia County Christmas tree farm are proud to have two of their trees displayed at the state capitol for the Christmas season.
“I think the exciting part of it is the fact that it’s the Canaan fir tree that got selected to go down. Canaan fir, it’s a seed source from our state, so to have those trees displayed at our capital, I mean, it’s the perfect tree variety to go down there,” Beth Bossio of Quarter Pine Tree Farm said.
Bossio, the stepdaughter of tree farm owner Jim Rockis, said the trees must be in perfect shape to be chosen for display. So, employees at Rockis’ farm worked hard to shear the trees into a perfect triangle shape.
“A lot of the other trees that have been at the capitol are unsheathed trees that are gorgeous and tall, but they don’t look like a Christmas tree,” Bossio said.
Rockis is also a Christmas tree seed and transplant wholesaler. The farm owns seed orchards in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Oregon, as well as land out in Washington State.
“I think we’ve figured out that every [transplant] being grown… probably about 70 percent of [that] seed comes from us,” Bossio said. “We’re a small, small family farm but we do a lot of work.”
The Canaan firs will be lit during this year’s Joyful Night ceremony coming up early next month at the state capitol.