Eight things to know before your first trip to cut your own Christmas tree
Open days and hours, measuring the room, boots and gloves, straps and a blanket, cutting low and level, and tying the tree down for the drive home.
Mountain View Christmas Tree Farm, on Rushing Springs Rd in Rickman, is open nine days in 2026, 8 am to 4 pm Central. Hours are limited, and trees go to visitors in the order they arrive. With that few days on the calendar, a trip goes best when a few things are settled at home first: which day you will come, how big a tree the room can hold, and how the tree will get home and into water.
The farm has two kinds of tree. Cypress grows in the rows, and you choose and cut your own. Fraser firs come pre-cut, roughly 6 to 9 feet tall. The trees page shows how each one does in the house.
Pick your day and come early
The 2026 open days are the Black Friday sale weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 27, 28 and 29, then December 5 and 6, December 12 and 13, and December 19 and 20. The farm is open 8 am to 4 pm Central on each of those days. Those are the only open days this season, so plan the trip around them. The calendar is on the Plan a visit page.
It is first come, first served, so the families who come early have the most trees to choose from. Leave yourself time to walk the rows, cut the tree and tie it down well before the farm closes at 4 pm.
Check the weather and the Facebook page that morning
Open days depend on the weather. Before you leave the house, check the farm’s Facebook page or call (727) 992-3395. A rainy week also leaves the grass rows wet and muddy, which matters for what you wear.
Measure the room before you leave
Measure from the floor to the ceiling right where the tree will stand, and take off about a foot for the stand and the topper. Measure the floor space as well. A full tree is wide at the bottom, and the National Christmas Tree Association reminds buyers that a tree short enough for the ceiling can still be too wide for the room. Measure the door you will carry it through, too.
Keep the numbers on your phone or on a scrap of paper in your pocket. The pre-cut Fraser firs run roughly 6 to 9 feet, and the Will it fit? tool on the trees page shows the tallest tree that will stand under your ceiling.
Dress for wet grass
The rows are grass, and they can be wet or muddy. Wear boots and old clothes. Bring work gloves for whoever does the cutting and the lifting, and rain gear if the sky looks doubtful. The National Christmas Tree Association also warns about tree stumps and uneven ground at choose-and-cut farms, so watch your footing in the rows and keep an eye on small children.
Pack straps and a blanket, and ask about a saw
Bring strong rope or ratchet straps to tie the tree down. AAA, the auto club, advises against the light twine some tree sellers hand out. Pack an old blanket or tarp to lay under the tree and protect the paint on the roof or the bed of the truck.
If you plan to cut your own cypress, call ahead to ask whether to bring a saw.
The what to bring list on the Plan a visit page has the same items in short form, if you want something to check off before you leave.
Cut low and level
Walk the rows and settle on your tree before anyone starts cutting. The National Christmas Tree Association suggests checking that the trunk is straight enough to stand up and long enough for your stand.
Cut close to the ground and straight across the trunk. A low cut leaves more bare trunk to fit into the stand at home, and a level cut sits flat. The job goes easier with two people. The association suggests having a helper pull lightly on the tree while the other person saws, so the cut stays open and the blade does not bind. Keep your free hand and any children well clear of the blade.
If you choose a pre-cut Fraser fir instead, it is already cut and ready to load.
Carry it and tie it down for the drive home
Carry the tree by the trunk. A big one is easier with a second person holding it partway up. Lay the blanket down first, then set the tree on the roof rack or in the truck bed with the trunk toward the front of the vehicle, which is what AAA recommends. If you have a van or an SUV with no roof rack, AAA says to put the tree inside.
Tie the tree down at the bottom, the middle and the top. AAA suggests using the vehicle’s fixed tie-down points and looping the rope around the trunk above a branch, so the tree cannot slide forward, back or side to side. Then give it several firm tugs from different directions. On the way home, drive slower than usual and take back roads where you can. AAA warns that the wind at higher speeds can damage the tree or pull against the straps hard enough to loosen them.
Get it in water the same day
The National Christmas Tree Association says to get a tree into water as soon as you can after you get home. Have the stand set up and ready before you leave for the farm. The association notes that a tree you cut yourself is fresher than one from a retail lot, but it still needs water that day. A pre-cut fir needs a fresh cut about half an inch thick at home before it goes in the stand.
For the stand, the association recommends one that holds 1 quart of water for every inch across the trunk. Keeping a cut tree fresh from Black Friday to Christmas covers the stand, the fresh cut and the daily water check in more detail.
If you have a question before you come, call (727) 992-3395 or send one through the form at the bottom of this page.
Sources
- National Christmas Tree Association, Selection tips and Care tips
- AAA, AAA urges drivers to safely secure Christmas trees (November 2019)