Chandler's Tumbleweed Tree: Repurposing Nuisance Into Festive Icon

Deep Dive

Rob Lowe introduces his podcast, "Literally with Rob Lowe," describing it as intimate conversations with admired individuals, with new episodes released every Thursday. He then transitions to a promotional segment for K18 Molecular Repair Hair Mask, explaining that it repairs hair damage at a molecular level, offering strong, soft, and bouncy hair without damage, and suggests using code PODCAST for a discount. Following this, Goldbelly is promoted for shipping iconic American food gifts nationwide, including items from Ina Garten and Joe's Stone Crab, with a promo code GIFT for a discount.

Kelly McGiver, co-host of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, shares a personal holiday experience from northern Iraq. She recounts spending the holidays in Erbil, a city in Kurdistan, and visiting the Mar Mattai Monastery, believed to be one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world, dating back to the fourth century. She highlights the monastery's resilience, noting that its documents and artifacts were removed and preserved when it was threatened by ISIS, describing it as a beacon of resilience in a turbulent region. McGiver then announces a two-week series of unusual and offbeat stories from unusual places, titled "12 Days of Wonder," featuring stories that are weird and wonderful, some from places that are easy to visit and others impossible to access.

The first story in the "12 Days of Wonder" series focuses on Christmas in the desert, specifically in Chandler, Arizona. The narrative explains that while Chandler experiences cooler temperatures in winter, it rarely snows, with snow occurring only three times in the last 100 years. The region also lacks traditional Christmas trees like towering Douglas firs, as pine trees do not thrive in the Phoenix valley. Despite these conditions, Chandler has created its own unique Christmas tradition.

The discussion then shifts to the Chandler Tumbleweed Christmas Tree, a centerpiece of their holiday celebrations for 60 years. This tree is constructed from tumbleweeds, a common "nuisance" plant in the area. The tree stands 25 feet high, is decorated with colorful lights, and topped with a five-foot star. During the day, its construction becomes apparent: it is painted white with 25 gallons of paint and covered in 65 pounds of glitter to give it a festive sparkle. Jody Crago, the museum administrator for the city of Chandler, explains that painting the tree white helps create a Christmas aesthetic, otherwise, it would appear as a pile of dead plants.

The source delves into the nature of tumbleweeds, describing them as plants with shallow roots that break off in the stem and roll in the wind as they die in winter, which is how they spread their seeds. While synonymous with the American West, tumbleweeds are not native to the region. Their seeds were accidentally introduced to North America in the 1870s by Russian immigrants, possibly mixed with flax seeds. The tumbleweed, also known as the Russian thistle, became one of the fastest-spreading invasive plants in American history.

The text elaborates on the negative impacts of tumbleweeds, noting that their rapid spread has historically caused problems for farmers, leading to enormous crop loss by preventing them from plowing fields. In more modern times, they create hazards on roads. Jody Crago recounts an instance where a tumbleweed hit his car during a strong windstorm, describing them as sharp and woody rather than soft.

The origin of the Tumbleweed Christmas Tree is traced back to 1957 when Chandler was planning its annual Christmas celebration. The local electrical service company replaced lighter poles that could no longer support traditional Christmas light decorations, necessitating new decorations. A committee was formed, and drawing from Chandler's agricultural history, they created wreaths from cotton plants. They then decided to build a Christmas tree from tumbleweeds, using a center pole and chicken wire to form a shape onto which tumbleweeds were tied.

The Tumbleweed Christmas Tree did not immediately become a sensation in its first year, 1957, with newspaper articles focusing more on the cotton wreaths. However, by 1959, just two years later, newspapers were referring to it as the "great tumbleweed tree," indicating it had rapidly become the town's signature Christmas decoration.

Chandler has continued to build Tumbleweed Christmas Trees annually for over 60 years. Constructing a 25-foot-tall tree requires collecting approximately a thousand tumbleweeds, a process that begins months before December. The parks department collects tumbleweeds, ideally three feet in size and fairly round, ensuring they are strong enough to be attached to a conical wire frame. After assembly, the entire tree is painted white, glittered, and sprayed extensively with fire retardant due to the highly flammable nature of tumbleweeds. The source notes that the tree has burned down seven times throughout its history, with one incident in the 1980s attributed to teenagers smoking inside it.

The annual debut of the Tumbleweed Tree is marked by a large holiday parade and tree lighting ceremony, drawing families for photos and solidifying its status as a beloved local tradition. Jody Crago points out that as Chandler has grown into a major metropolitan area with more suburban homes and businesses, it has become more difficult to source tumbleweeds, requiring the parks department to collect them from farther distances. The collecting process now begins as early as October, with the town committed to continuing the tradition.

The Tumbleweed Christmas Tree is presented as a symbol of Chandler itself, representing innovation, opportunity, and the town's ability to refresh, rethink, and create unique things. The tree is free and open to the public in downtown Chandler during December, and the town sells tumbleweed Christmas tree ornaments. Additionally, a metal tumbleweed statue is located in a park-and-ride near Tumbleweed Park. The segment concludes with thanks to Jody Crago for sharing the story and credits the production team and sponsors.