He is a true coniferous enthusiast.
Visiting the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree (which is dizzyingly tall and dazzlingly lit) is one of New York's most treasured holiday rituals.
And behind the stunning, sky-high stone cut and brought to the Big Apple to brighten the mood at Christmas time, stands one man striving for perfection – perhaps in the concrete jungle of Midtown. He is one of the few people who is struggling with his job as a head gardener.
But that's exactly what Eric Pows has been toiling away at Rockefeller Center for 40 years — the 58-year-old Long Islander scouts “easily” 100 trees in a six-state radius each year. he told the Post. Momigeddaboudit! Move to any number of smaller specimens before deciding exactly which ones are ready for prime time.
The 2024 winner, which arrived Saturday, is a 74-foot-tall, 11-ton, 43-foot-diameter Norway spruce that will be lit with the usual fanfare on Dec. 4.
This majestic ornament comes from the tony Berkshire Village of West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. For the first time since 1959, the Bay State beauty has taken pride of place in this legendary square.
Local resident Earl Albert's journey from his backyard dates back to 2020, when Pause was visiting the area looking for another candidate, he said.
“I've been climbing and monitoring it for those four years,” said a pine specifier who has been responsible for selecting trees since 2010.
He often discovers future trees near past selections or dominant trees. It should be sturdy and symmetrical enough to handle as many as 50,000 Christmas lights.
“This year was just right,” Pause said after getting to know the tree and its owner, making sure it was well-cared for and overseeing future prizes to be great.
“It was perfect,” he said, thrilled.
Season's greetings
Building relationships with families like the Alberts and getting to know the communities they live in is a major part of the job, Pause said.
There was also a 2021 tree in Elkton, Maryland, where students from nearby schools lined local roads for a grand sendoff, and one in a small Florida town in New York's Hudson Valley where giant trees were planted. In 2019, the American flag flew in recognition of a great gift from this small town.
This year, it was all about hanging out and waiting, sitting in a rocking chair on the Albert's porch with a panoramic view of the lush spruce trees.
“We were just two old friends there, going back and forth,” Pause said. “It was wonderful.”
“I spent so much time there that I started calling his house my upstate office,” the evergreen enabler jokes, adding that a few Friday nights ago, he and his family were at the high school. He said he even went to a varsity football game to watch his son play.
“Those are the memories that stick with me every year,” he said. “Then we took the tree to Rockefeller Center, put it up, and said, 'This is just as nice as it was in the garden.'”
Earle was happy to donate this extraordinary piece of forestry to honor his late mother's love of Christmas, he said.
This week, the burly giant was cut down, placed on a 115-foot trailer, and transported south for the final time.
How to decide the winner at home
Though much more discreet with just a few white lights and ornaments, Poese is also responsible for selecting the family's 6- to 7-foot-tall tree for their Suffolk County home each holiday season.
The botany expert will be shopping closer to home this time, but he still hasn't been recognized, he laughed.
“I usually like Frasier fir for the sturdier branches at home,” Pause said.
“We have to make sure no needles are lost. That's a big point,” he added.
“Sometimes I plant a really fresh tree at home and it keeps sucking water all through the New Year,” he marveled.
Double or triple check that the tree is “fresh cut from the root.” This will help the tree absorb as much water as possible.
