Seed to Sapling
Christmas trees grow from the seeds that pinecones hold. Pinecones can grow to be 2 to 3 inches long and when all the seeds inside are ready to become seedlings, the pinecones pop open and the seeds drop to the ground. Animals like birds and squirrels then pick up the seeds and move them all over the forest floor. They might bury them or drop them on the ground. As long as the seeds are covered by dirt, and the conditions are just right, the seed can start to grow into a seedling – a mini Christmas tree.

First, the seed becomes slightly swollen as the roots begin to grow, then it cracks open and the first sprout reaches out and downward. This little root is called a radicle and moves down into the soil to get the nutrients that the growing tree needs.

Then the first bright green stem – called the hypocotyl (hy·po·cot·yl) – presses up through the soil bent over double, kind of like an upside-down U. It does this so that the middle, widest part of the stem pushes because it is the strongest. Sometimes the little leaves are still holding the seed coat.

While the hypocotyl pushes up and begins to straighten, the radicles keep moving down. The new roots and the new leaves pull in water and light and transform them into energy just like your body does with food and water.

After just a few days of being buried, the hypocotyl straightens up, the leaves spread, and the seed coat falls off. And then for the first time, the little tree stands upright a full inch tall.