Christmas Tree Trimming (Shaping)

Christmas Tree Trimming Machine at Work

This device was originally designed and patented by Murphy-Matic, Inc. of Coolidge, Georgia. The machine used at Shady Pond Tree Farm was substantially modified after its purchase. The revisions included structural enhancements, redesign of the hydraulic system, redesign of the electrical control circuitry, and the addition of a precision leveling system, with an accuracy of 0.1 deg. In its present form the machine trims Christmas trees at a daily average rate of one every 10.2 seconds, with only 4 seconds required to trim an individual tree . Trees from 18 inches to 10 feet are shaped with the trimmer to progressively narrower tapers as they increase in age.

Leyland Cypress being Trimmed

All of the trees at Shady Pond are trimmed twice each growing season, once after the spring flush and again in late summer. Each trim requires about six (6) days to complete. Much of the trimming is done at night using the machine lights. Passers-by are always taken by the eerie sight of this peculiar looking machine working in the darkness.

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