The Christmas-tree grower

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"People want Nordmann firs, but they don't grow in Swiss forests." Luder takes stock of his trees. swissinfo.ch

Luder cuts ten per cent of his 60,000 trees for the Christmas market. swissinfo.ch

His Christmas trees spend the first three years of their lives in a nursery. A spruce requires five to six years to reach maturity, and a Nordmann fir five to ten years. swissinfo.ch

Luder needs lots of help during the cold days of December to get his trees ready for market. swissinfo.ch

Cutting the trunk. swissinfo.ch

Colour coding is used to indicate the size. swissinfo.ch

Each tree is wrapped in a net before it is transported. swissinfo.ch

Luder employs about 12 people to deal with the Christmas rush. swissinfo.ch

After the trees have been shipped, it is time to clean up. swissinfo.ch

The Luder family delivers its trees to retailers or directly to private customers. Half of the family's income is derived from the Christmas tree business. swissinfo.ch

Traditionally, the Swiss wait until Christmas Eve before putting up their tree, whether a Norway or Blue spruce, Silver or Nordmann fir. swissinfo.ch

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Farmer Hans-Peter Luder from the village of Bütikofen in canton Bern got into the Christmas-tree business 20 years ago. At first local residents didn't take him seriously, but he persevered with his vision. (Pictures and text: Christoph Balsiger, swissinfo.ch)