Tumbleweed Tree

Prior to 1957, the town of Chandler, Arizona, had decorated for Christmas with large strands of colored lights on its street lights. That year, Arizona Public Service replaced the street lights, and the new posts were not strong enough to hold the typical decorations. The town appointed a committee, which presented its findings in September 1957, particularly advocating for improved displays in the town's Chandler Park. Town decorator Earle Barnum shared the idea for a tree made of tumbleweeds, which he claimed to have based on a tree in his hometown of Elkhart, Indiana, made of pine branches.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-22 |title=Where Did Chandler Get Its Tumbleweed Tree? |url=https://www.chandleraz.gov/blog/where-did-chandler-get-its-tumbleweed-tree |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915074423/https://www.chandleraz.gov/blog/where-did-chandler-get-its-tumbleweed-tree |archive-date=2024-09-15 |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Chandler, Arizona}} (However, an Elkhart official has since stated their city had no recorded tradition of a pine branch tree.){{Cite news |last=Sain |first=Ken |date=2024-11-25 |title=Tumbleweed Tree is the one and only |url=https://www.chandlernews.com/arizonan/citynews/tumbleweed-tree-is-the-one-and-only/article_664b23fe-a914-11ef-a13f-17f38af10ce8.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241223225945/https://www.chandlernews.com/arizonan/citynews/tumbleweed-tree-is-the-one-and-only/article_664b23fe-a914-11ef-a13f-17f38af10ce8.html |archive-date=2024-12-23 |access-date=2024-12-23 |work=The Chandler Arizonan |publisher=Times Media Group}} The first Tumbleweed Tree was completed on November 27 in the town square with help from several community service organizations and members of the local police and fire departments.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-08 |title=History of the Tumbleweed Tree |url=https://www.chandleraz.gov/explore/special-events/tumbleweed-tree-lighting-ceremony/history-of-the-tumbleweed-tree |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619072852/https://www.chandleraz.gov/explore/special-events/tumbleweed-tree-lighting-ceremony/history-of-the-tumbleweed-tree |archive-date=2024-06-19 |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Chandler, Arizona}}

At the time, media attention focused less on the tree and more on the town's new street light decorations, featuring eighty wreaths made from cotton bolls. Only about 2–3 years later, Chandler residents grew less excited about the wreaths and more about the tree.{{Cite news |last=Salerno |first=Michael |date=2023-11-21 |title=This quirky, only-in-Arizona Christmas tree was named among best in the US. How to see it |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/holidays/2023/11/21/chandler-arizona-tumbleweed-christmas-tree/71622246007/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223175331/https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/holidays/2023/11/21/chandler-arizona-tumbleweed-christmas-tree/71622246007/ |archive-date=2023-12-23 |access-date=2024-12-23 |work=The Arizona Republic |publisher=Gannett}}

In 1969, a vandalism incident partially destroyed the Tumbleweed Tree. Starting the following year, the city began adding fire retardant to the tree. (That year, four attempts were made to set the tree on fire, but the new preventative measures proved effective.){{Cite news |date=1970-12-17 |title=Chandler boasts tumbleweed tree |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-chandler-tree/7457880/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |work=The Arizona Republic |location=Chandler, Arizona |page=1-D |via=Newspapers.com}} Overall, the tree has burned at least seven times since its inception.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-02 |title=Tumbleweed Tree: Did You Know? |url=https://www.chandleraz.gov/explore/special-events/tumbleweed-tree-lighting-ceremony/did-you-know |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619082001/https://www.chandleraz.gov/explore/special-events/tumbleweed-tree-lighting-ceremony/did-you-know |archive-date=2024-06-19 |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Chandler, Arizona}}

The Tumbleweed Tree has gained national recognition from a few publications. In December 2013, National Geographic mentioned it in an article{{Cite web |date=December 2013 |title=The Weed That Won the West |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/the-weed-that-won-the-west |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231023212523/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/the-weed-that-won-the-west |archive-date=October 23, 2023 |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=National Geographic |issn=0027-9358}} and comedian Cecily Strong mentioned the tree in a Weekend Update sketch on Saturday Night Live. Lifestyle magazine Travel + Leisure has named the tree the best Christmas light display in Arizona.{{Cite web |last=Kachroo-Levine |first=Maya |date=2024-12-16 |title=The Best Christmas Light Displays in Every State |url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/holiday-travel/best-christmas-lights-in-every-state |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Travel + Leisure}}

Initially, the Tumbleweed Tree was created by pushing tumbleweeds together against a telephone pole in the ground, using strings of lights to form the tree shape and hold the tumbleweeds in place.{{Cite news |last=Arroyo Rodriguez |first=Nadine |date=2015-12-11 |title=Did You Know: Chandler Tumbleweed Tree Is One Of A Kind |url=https://www.kjzz.org/2015-12-11/content-236496-did-you-know-chandler-tumbleweed-tree-one-kind |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241223230255/https://www.kjzz.org/2015-12-11/content-236496-did-you-know-chandler-tumbleweed-tree-one-kind |archive-date=2024-12-23 |access-date=2024-12-23 |work=KJZZ}}

Today, an internal frame for the tree is made by bolting a metal pole into the ground, attaching rings to the top and bottom, connecting the rings with several cables to create a tree shape, and placing a star at the top of the structure.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-02 |title=Constructing the Tumbleweed Tree |url=https://www.chandleraz.gov/explore/special-events/tumbleweed-tree-lighting-ceremony/constructing-the-tumbleweed-tree |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625082924/https://www.chandleraz.gov/explore/special-events/tumbleweed-tree-lighting-ceremony/constructing-the-tumbleweed-tree |archive-date=2024-06-25 |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Chandler, Arizona}}

File:Starr 070313-5636 Salsola tragus.jpg, the most common plant species in the United States to produce tumbleweeds]]

Each year, starting around October,{{Cite news |last=Clark |first=Lauren |date=2022-12-03 |title=A look back at Chandler's Tumbleweed Christmas Tree, a 66-year-old tradition |url=https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/a-look-back-at-chandlers-tumbleweed-christmas-tree-a-66-year-old-tradition |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519172743/https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/a-look-back-at-chandlers-tumbleweed-christmas-tree-a-66-year-old-tradition |archive-date=2024-05-19 |access-date=2024-12-23 |work=Fox 10 Phoenix |location=Chandler, Arizona}} city employees search fields and vacant lots for over one thousand tumbleweeds, which they collect, dry, and store until it is time to create the tree. At that point, chicken wire is wrapped around the tree structure, and the tumbleweeds are tied to the wire. Once the tumbleweeds are attached, city employees spray the tree with fire retardant, paint it with about {{Convert|25|USgal}} of latex paint, and coat it with about {{Convert|50|lbs}} of glitter. Finally, about 1,200 lights are strung around the tree.{{Cite news |last=Sain |first=Ken |date=2023-11-28 |title=Much works goes into Chandler's Tumbleweed Christmas Tree |url=https://www.chandlernews.com/arizonan/citynews/much-works-goes-into-chandler-s-tumbleweed-christmas-tree/article_a73301d0-8957-11ee-9f24-176e846d0706.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241223230122/https://www.chandlernews.com/arizonan/citynews/much-works-goes-into-chandler-s-tumbleweed-christmas-tree/article_a73301d0-8957-11ee-9f24-176e846d0706.html |archive-date=2024-12-23 |access-date=2024-12-23 |work=The Chandler Arizonan |publisher=Times Media Group}}

The design and construction of the tree have changed slightly throughout its history, but the city says it averages {{Convert|33|ft}} tall and {{Convert|18|ft}} wide.

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Category:Individual Christmas trees

Category:Buildings and structures in Chandler, Arizona

Category:Christmas in the United States

Category:1957 establishments in Arizona

Category:Vandalized works of art in the United States