Central West horticulturist supplying Australia's Christmas trees

Ten years ago, Lawrence Ranson was working on a Christmas tree farm in Germany when he realised there was a gaping hole in the Australian market. 

"We only had one variety of Christmas tree [in Australia], and only a couple of farms in the whole country, really big ones," he said.

"I thought there was an opportunity there, and I started trying to grow these strange trees from all over the world, and failing in the beginning."

The start-up business in a Wollongong backyard was plagued by massive power bills and tested the goodwill of Mr Ranson's housemates.

He moved to a cooler climate on the outskirts of Bathurst in Central West NSW, and now supplies the classic Christmas trees radiata pine and Douglas fir to growers right across Australia.

He grows seedlings for other Christmas tree farmers, and cut trees for the public. 

"We're doing 200,000 to 300,000 seedlings a year now, supplying other farms around Australia … we now grow most of the seedlings of Christmas tree farmers in Australia," Mr Ranson said.

"We have in the tens of thousands, in the ground, they take seven or eight years to mature. So, we have a cycle and we're planning about 10,000 a year, and this year we've cut 6,000 or 7,000.

"They go to Sydney, they go to Brisbane, Melbourne, all over the place."

Native and exotic Christmas trees

Looking to expand beyond the classic spruce and fir Christmas trees, Mr Ranson has made it his mission to bring new varieties to living spaces.

While there are no specifications of what he looks for in a tree, he believes the quirkier the better. 

"There'd be 120-odd varieties that we're experimenting with, maybe 30 or 40 look promising," he said.

"We've got blue spruces with like a bright blue colour, and we've got firs from Russia and from Canada and all sorts of places."

With strict biosecurity rules on seed imports, Mr Ranson turned to the resources around him.

He found that Orange, an hour west of his Christmas tree farm, was a playground for propagation.

"Collectors 100 years ago in towns like Orange had planted these trees, one or two of them, and we found them … and we go and collect our own seed, climb the trees and pick the cones," Mr Ranson said.

"There's so much in Australia if you look around … whenever we're driving somewhere I'm like 'oh my God, it's a giant sequoia' and we'll pull over and get cuttings or get seeds straight away.

"There are botanic gardens, they're often quite helpful, people's front yards, I've traded a case of beer for a tree climb if they let me collect big sacks of seeds."

Describing Orange as a "hot spot for cool stuff", Mr Ranson can often be spotted climbing the trees in high-vis around the area.

He said the climbing part of the job came about by necessity.

"The cones [that contain the seeds] are always at the top of course," Mr Ranson said.

"By the time they fall, often the cones are already open and there's no seeds left."

'Pretty funny looking things'

Mr Ranson has always found joy seeing his customers happy at the farm with their families.

But he said it was not always about how "Christmassy" the tree looked.

"We've got Huon pines and they're like a Christmas tree, but with ... a little droopy top which is pretty cute. They do really well," he said.

"There's some pretty funny looking things, you never know, you'd be surprised what people want.

"It's fun, you come with the kids and they like to be part of it and choose a tree."