Tying tops when shaping or shearing Christmas trees is one of the more difficult tasks on the farm. It can be difficult to get a crooked tree straight and then it often doesn't want to stay straight. Once you cut of thee terminal bud, lateral buds will be forced to try to grow vertically. They do not grow straight up but start sideways and then turn. This requires the tree farmer to tie the leader to a stick that is going straight up. The tree as it goes dormant will harden in this new position leaving a straight top. No two trees are alike and you need to learn about tree chemistry and tendancies as you develop your skills. It is more and art than a science. Grand Firs and Douglas firs easily grow straight tops. The real challenge is to get Noble and Noordman firs to have consistently straight tops. We use sticks to tie the branches to. The sticks are usually about 3/8 inch thick and 18 inches long.
