Gelorup Christmas tree farmer bringing joy to homes

Gelorup resident Peter Crouch has been bringing joy to South West homes each festive season for the past 20 years.

There is something special about choosing a tree and bringing it back to the family home, and that is a service Mr Crouch loves to deliver.

He originally started growing New Zealand fir pines but now grows pine trees.

He said the beauty of the tree was in the eye of the buyer.

“The perfect tree really depends on the person,” Mr Crouch said.

“One lady likes to buy a tree that has a bit of a hole in it so she can put a nativity scene inside that her daughter created when she was younger.

Each tree is special to someone.

It is the grin that takes over a child’s face, or even an adult’s, as they find their perfect tree — which is what Mr Crouch loves.

“Some of the kids get so attached to the trees they pick and the parents have to go along with it,” he said.

One memory that stuck with him was a family who came to buy a tree but then realised they could not afford to take it home with them.

“I said to her we could make it work and she protested, so I said ‘they’re my trees and it’s Christmas’ and I sent her on her way with a tree,” he said.

You can tell people really appreciate it.

At his farm, it takes about two to three years to grow the trees, which should live for about three to four weeks if given enough water.

“It’s been a learning curve for us,” he said.

“We usually prune the trees twice a year to help give them their shape. The rain earlier on gave the trees a big spurt, there’s a lot of additional growth.”