Dale Haney, White House Superintendent of Grounds, walks along the rows of trees at Korson’s Tree Farm in Sidney, searching for the perfect one.
“Full. I like the smell; that helps a lot.”
Korson’s Tree Farm’s entry won Grand Champion at the National Tree contest in July, earning the opportunity to provide the Official White House Christmas Tree for 2025.
Rex and Jessica Korson run the family wholesale farm.
”We’re just a teeny tiny little town and we’re going to represent in the White House.It’s an amazing honor.”
The tree must be exactly 18.5 feet tall so lights can plug into the outlet in the Blue Room’s ceiling, and it must look good from all angles as it stands in the middle of the room.
“We have half a million people come through the House at Christmastime, so it’s all
seen.”
Haney chose a concolor fir famous for its citrus scent, with uniform branches, wide and more than tall enough.
Rex Korson is happy to trim it to size.
“I’ve had a few people request the bottom limbs and bottom branches. They want to make wreaths out of them.”
The Korsons will go to Washington DC just before Thanksgiving to present the tree to the First Lady.
“The tree gets put on a horsedrawn wagon and gets taken to the front of the White House and that’s when we’ll present the tree to Melania, so we’re really excited about it.”
It is the first time in 40 years the White House Christmas tree has come from Michigan and only the third time ever.
