Understanding the Difference in Christmas Tree Foliage

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Tip Count vs. Density

When shopping for trees, you'll find that the tip count is often included in tree descriptions. More important than tip count is the density of branches and needles. For a traditional appearance, you should not be able to see through to the inside of the tree, and there should be enough outer branches to hang your ornaments. Needles should have a lush and thick appearance on the branches.

Unique Material Styles

All artificial trees will be made from either PE or PVC material, or a beautiful combination of them. However, many other unique styles and colors of trees are available, such as:

Flocked – Trees are dressed with a beautiful blanket of white over the green foliage as if they’ve been outdoors during a recent snow

Frosted – Much lighter than flocking, a very light frost delicately graces the foliage just a trees look before being warmed by the morning sun


Colored – Trees are also available in a variety of solid colors including white, silver and platinum, as well as in combinations of sports team-themed colors.

Real-Needle™ PE

The most realistic foliage type is our Real-Needle™ PE foliage. We take real branches from nature and have molds made out of them giving trees in PE foliage the most realistic impression possible! Most PE trees will have some PVC foliage on them, typically found on the part of the branches nearest the pole; this helps to decrease the overall weight of the tree, and to create fullness deep inside the tree.

Traditional PVC

PVC is the material from which all artificial trees used to be made. The material is cut into thin strips and wrapped onto the branches giving them a fluffy feel and look. Trees made with PVC foliage have a very traditional feel both to the touch and style-wise.

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