Bishops Offley Christmas Trees from Staffordshire have won the accolade of providing the Christmas tree for Downing Street after being crowned Champion Christmas Tree Grower of the Year 2022.
The winner of ''Champion Festive Wreath'' is Santa Trees from Cornwall and they will provide the wreath for the door of the Prime Minister’s residence.
Organised by the British Christmas Tree Growers Association (BCTGA), the annual competition has been running since 1999.
Russell and Liz Stanhope from Bishops Offley Christmas Trees said they were stunned by the win which is a first for the growers who said: “We are absolutely over the moon and very proud to win Champion Grower, we still can’t believe it! "
TV presenter Jules Hudson was a special guest for this year’s competition and selected a Nordmann Fir grown by York Christmas Trees as his favourite tree for a new Celebrity Choice Award. Another new award for 2022, was the Innovation Award sponsored by Professional Sprayers People which was won by Hortifeeds, Lincolnshire, for its HortiHydrate Bio.
The event took place at Gower Fresh Christmas Trees in Swansea and was kindly sponsored by ICL, leading growing media and fertiliser manufacturers.
Heather Parry, Managing Agent for BCTGA, said: “Today we have seen the best Christmas trees in Britain coming together under one roof and our annual competition gets bigger every year. Congratulations to all our winners. It really is an absolute credit to their hard work each and every year to take the winning crown for their category. We now look forward to a successful season ahead as more consumers choose a real hand-grown, sustainable tree for their home. The big switch on at Downing Street in December with our champion grower’s tree will really kick start Christmas 2022.”
Awards included:
Champion Christmas Tree Grower of the Year – Bishops Offley Christmas Trees from Staffordshire (Supplier of 2022 tree for 10 Downing Street)
Runner Up Christmas Tree Grower of the Year – Dartmoor Christmas Tree Farm, Devon
Best Pine Winner – Caledonian Christmas Trees, Stirlingshire
Best Norway Spruce Winner – Dartmoor Christmas Tree Farm, Devon
Best Norway Spruce Runner Up – Pinewood Christmas Trees, Worcestershire
Best Spruce Other Winner – Oakberry Trees, Leicestershire
Best Spruce Other Runner Up – Hans Christmas Andersen, Surrey and Kent
Best Nordmann Fir Winner- Dartmoor Christmas Tree Farm, Devon
Best Nordmann Fir Runner Up – Billingley Christmas Trees, Barnsley, South Yorkshire
Best Fir Other Winner – Bishops Offley Christmas Trees from Staffordshire
Best Fir Other Runner Up – Pinewood Christmas Trees, Worcestershire
Best Container Grown Tree Winner – Gower Fresh Christmas Trees, Swansea
Best Container Grown Tree Runner Up – Bishops Offley Christmas Trees from Staffordshire
New Awards
Celebrity Choice – Nordmann Fir - York Christmas Trees, North Yorks
Celebrity Choice Runner Up – Blue Spruce - Cadeby Tree Trust, Warwickshire
Innovation Award – sponsored by Professional Sprayers People – was won by Hortifeeds, Lincolnshire, with HortiHydrate Bio - the sustainable wetting agent.
Innovation Award Runners Up – Digby Farm Christmas Trees, Rutland and Hans Christmas Andersen, Surrey and Kent.
Malcolm Mullender from Professional Sprayers People, said of the winner: “This Hortifeeds product – HortiHydrate Bio - ticks a lot of boxes and clearly has applications in various markets; I can see this becoming a popular choice within the pot grown sector of the Christmas tree market.”
Wreaths
Champion Festive Wreath – Santa Trees, Cornwall
Best Natural Wreath Winner - Santa Trees, Cornwall
Best Natural Wreath Runner Up – Dartmoor Christmas Tree Farm, Devon
Best Decorated Wreath Winner – Santa Trees, Cornwall
Best Decorated Wreath Runner Up – Dartmoor Christmas Tree Farm, Devon
Film
Best Short Film Winner– Gower Fresh Christmas Trees, Swansea
Best Short Film Runner Up – Stockeld Park Estate, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
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