Ohio
From seed to living room: Christmas tree care, myths and Ohio connections
CLEVELAND, Ohio — For many households that do not otherwise keep plants, a cut Christmas tree may be the only one they actively care for all year, watered daily and monitored carefully.
And every December, families arrive at Sugargrove Tree Farm in Ashland, ready to make a once-a-year decision: which tree will carry their lights and ornaments and serve as a backdrop for holiday selfies. I recently spoke Bob Smith, who owns and operates the cut-your-own tree farm, about his tree care advice.
Read all of Susan Brownstein’s columns here.
Smith has a short list of rules for customers once their tree is home, and the most important one is simple.
“Water,” he says. “Always keep it watered. The bottom of the trunk should never be exposed to air.” When a freshly cut tree sits dry for too long, sap seals the cut surface, forming a scab that prevents water uptake.
If a tree has been without water for more than six or seven hours—for example, if you store it in the garage for a few days before bringing it in the house—Smith recommends making a fresh cut before putting it back in water. One to two hours of exposure is usually fine; six or seven hours is not.
Smith was also eager to bust some persistent Christmas tree care myths. Adding Sprite or aspirin to the water doesn’t help, Smith says, and worrying about water temperature is unnecessary. Warm water quickly cools to room temperature anyway.
“Tap water is fine,” he says. “The tree just needs hydration.”
Placement in the house, on the other hand, is important. A hot air register right next to the tree is “really, really bad,” Smith says, and dries it out regardless of how much water is in the stand. Cooler conditions are best.
He has one longstanding customer who sets up her Fraser fir in a three-season room and keeps it there until April, finally taking it out when the daffodils bloom.
Tree species also plays a major role in how long a tree stays fresh. Norway spruce, while classic in appearance, has inherently poor needle retention and will often drop needles within two weeks, no matter how well it’s cared for. Fir trees perform much better indoors, and among them, the Canaan fir is rapidly gaining in popularity.
Pronounced “ka-NANE,” the Canaan fir is growing rapidly in popularity as a Christmas tree and has an origin story with deep Ohio roots (pun intended).
The tree takes its name from Canaan Valley in West Virginia, where it was first identified, and its development as a Christmas tree accelerated in the 1950s through work at The Ohio State University. That early research helped establish Canaan fir as a reliable option for growers, combining good needle retention, strong branching, and most importantly for growers like Smith, the ability to grow in clay soils.
Many landscape plants are propagated from cuttings to ensure genetic consistency, but Smith explained that Canaan fir trees are grown from seed, and Ohio plays a significant role in that process.
Seed orchards near the OSU Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster produce Canaan fir seed from the best of the original “mother trees” bred by Dr. Brown’s team. That seed is sent to Weyerhaeuser, a large forestry company based in Washington state, where it is stored, tested for viability, and grown into seedlings by request from tree farms like Sugargrove.
When Smith receives them, the trees are already two years old and about 18 to 20 inches tall. From there, he grows them on for roughly eight more years before they’re ready to sell.
“That’s a decade of work for one tree,” Smith says.
That timeline helps explain why growing conditions matter so much. National data and maps of Christmas tree production show that Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington produce 80 to 90 percent of the trees grown in the U.S., with just a few counties accounting for half the total.
According to Smith, trees grown in North Carolina can reach six feet in five years thanks to its ideal climate and sandy soils, half the time it takes in Ohio’s heavier clay soils.
Sugargrove supplements some of its stock from North Carolina, but Ohio-grown trees remain central to the farm. Smith grows Canaan fir, Fraser fir, Norway spruce and white pine.
(However, the early bird gets the tree; Sugargrove began selling trees on Black Friday and sold out by December 14 this year.)
Each species has tradeoffs. Fraser firs are popular for their shape and sweet scent, though Smith notes they’re less tolerant of stress than Canaan firs. White pine can be a good option for lighter decorating styles.
“Think 1950s,” Smith says, “Popcorn strings, tinsel, and lights,” but no heavy ornaments so as to avoid the Charlie Brown tree effect.
Fragrance can also be a factor in tree choice. Smith jokes that old-fashioned blue spruce (which he no longer sells due to diminishing demand) smells like cat urine to him, but he acknowledges some people associate it strongly with Christmas.
Canaan fir has a citrus-like scent, while Fraser fir has a sweeter scent “that smells like Christmas” to him. Pines do not have much fragrance on their own, but combined with garlands and wreaths, a home can still achieve that treasured holiday smell.
Many families debate whether to get a real or artificial tree, but there are differences even among real trees.
Choosing a Christmas tree from an Ohio tree farm supports land that stays in agricultural production rather than being developed. When a tree from a tree farm is cut, it is replaced with a young tree that absorbs carbon as it grows.
Compared with a natural tree shipped from Oregon or the Pacific Northwest, a locally grown tree avoids thousands of miles of transportation and supports regional agriculture. And if a cut tree is composted after the holidays, its carbon is returned to the soil.
Whether a Christmas tree is the only plant you’ll have all year or just another member of your plant family, the care comes down to: choose a species that fits your home and decorating style, keep it away from heat, and above all, keep it watered.
And if you choose a tree from an Ohio tree farm, you continue a cycle that can begin with an Ohio-grown seed and ends, years later, at the center of a family’s Christmas story.
The NWSL is once again expanding, this time the league is heading to Ohio where Columbus NWSL 2028 will take the field. Of course, Columbus NWSL 2028 is a placeholder for now and the the new team will unveil its name, crest, and uniform to build an identity around as it approaches its first season.
News of the club was announced yesterday, though this has been in the works for some time, in a press conference. Team owners, the Haslam Sports Group (HSG), Nationwide and Drs. Christine and Pete Edwards, spoke about what they hope the club will bring to Columbus and women’s soccer more broadly.
“Our family is thrilled to help bring an NWSL team to Columbus and further invest in Ohio, with the honor of bringing the 18th team into the league,” said Haslam Sports Group Managing Partner Whitney Haslam Johnson. “We believe in the power of women’s sports and are humbled to be part of the number one women’s soccer league in the world.”
Nationwide insurance has been a corporate partner in both NWSL and MLS for years and now joins an ownership group deepening those ties. “Today’s announcement is about inspiring young athletes across Central Ohio, elevating women’s professional sports and reminding the world that Columbus is a first-class sports city,” said Kirt Walker, Nationwide Chief Executive Officer. “As Nationwide marks 100 years, this is a powerful way to celebrate our milestone with the community that has been our home from the very beginning.”
The Edwards family has deep roots in the Columbus soccer scene with Dr. Pete Edwards serving as team doctor for the Crew in 1996 and the family joining the team’s ownership in 2019 during the Save The Crew effort. “Columbus is very important to our family. For over 30 years, we’ve supported the Columbus Crew and MLS. We’ve seen how a men’s professional soccer team has brought people together and created a positive impact in our community. It’s truly special to now welcome an NWSL club and the incredible women athletes who will also uplift our city on and off the pitch,” said Dr. Christine Edwards. “We’re very excited to partner with Haslam Sports Group and Nationwide for NWSL Columbus 2028, and we can’t wait to share even more memorable moments with fans, especially during the Club’s first game at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.”
The NWSL has continued its expansion with the announcement and the team will join Atlanta in its inaugural season in two years.
Ohio
Ex-Ohio State president Ted Carter’s girlfriend would sneak through campus garage to get to his office, report reveals
Disgraced ex-Ohio State President Ted Carter repeatedly snuck his alleged failing podcaster lover through a campus garage for secret visits to his office as he funneled university resources into her business ventures, a shocking new report claims.
The report into the circumstances behind Carter’s abrupt exit from his cushy $1.5 million-a-year role last month detailed his secret office rendezvous with Krisanthe Vlachos, host of “The Callout Podcast,” and at least five trips he took with her.
The duo jetted off to Richmond, Virginia; Orlando, Florida; Kansas City, Missouri; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Las Vegas – with the married 66-year-old allegedly cooking up a fake business excuse for one trip, the report released Tuesday by the college found.
One social media post showed the pair at a Colorado Springs conference in January, with the ex-prez smiling next to Vlachos, who is clad in an all-black leather getup.
Carter – married to Lynda Carter for nearly 45 years – admitted giving Vlachos “inappropriate access” to university leadership and public resources to boost her private business when he voluntarily resigned.
The probe found he tapped at least 14 staffers to help his purported paramour, who hosted a veteran-focused podcast, including efforts to score her a university job, campus space, support staff, and financial backing from the school and outside agencies like JobsOhio for different business ventures.
“Carter’s actions betrayed Ohio State’s shared values and violated university policy,” the 47-page report said, adding his “wide-ranging” efforts dragged on for almost two years.
“Carter had a close personal and business relationship with Vlachos and he allowed that relationship to improperly influence his actions and impair his judgement.”
JobsOhio shelled out $60,000 to the prexy’s reported flame to produce four podcast episodes about veteran issues – though only one was completed, the agency said last month.
The company, which said its decision to invest was driven by Carter’s recommendation, is now trying to “clawback” the funds after all of Vlacho’s poorly performing podcast episodes were hastily removed from YouTube and other streamers when the scandal erupted.
Carter – who served as a Top Gun pilot and instructor during 38 years in the Navy – admitted in one episode he was a “frequent flyer” on the floundering show, appearing as a guest at least nine times since 2024.
JobsOhio also dished out $10,000 to sponsor a January 2025 event for vets and military families at Ohio State, calling it an “opportunity that Ms. Vlachos brought our attention.”
The agency’s handouts for Vlachos came to an end after she requested a $2.9 million investment in her proposed mobile app, which aimed to help Ohio veterans get jobs.
An Ohio State spokesman previously confirmed officials were investigating an LLC registered to Vlachos at a university-owned building, in connection with the ex-leader’s departure.
Carter and Vlachos have not responded publicly to the relationship allegations.
With Post wires.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Step aside, Bigfoot.
A new bill introduced to the Ohio House on April 13 wants to make the Loveland Frogman Ohio’s official state cryptid.
This very real bill is being sponsored by Ohio Representative Tristan Rader, who represents district 13 in Cleveland, and Representative Jean Schmidt, who represents district 62 in Loveland.
“This bill is about showcasing our communities,” said Rader in a press release. “The Loveland Frog is uniquely Ohio. It reflects the stories we tell, the places we’re proud of and the creativity that makes our state worth celebrating.”
The bill makes note that Loveland’s beloved legend has inspired books, documentaries, local festivals, artwork, merchandise and local tourism — all contributing to the local economy.
The Loveland Frogman is, as described by House Bill 821, “a frog-like, bipedal creature standing approximately four feet fall.”
The legend also inspired a found footage horror movie released in 2023.
But what is the Loveland Frogman?
The legend of the Loveland Frogman started with the story that, on two different nights in March of 1972, two different police officers spotted the Frogman.
The creature went unseen for decades, until in 2016, when a couple playing Pokemon Go said they spotted something weird between Loveland Madeira Road and Lake Isabella.
“We saw a huge frog near the water,” Sam Jacobs wrote in an email. “Not in the game, this was an actual giant frog.”
Jacobs said he stopped playing Pokemon Go so he could document what he was seeing, snapping some photos and shooting a short video.
“Then the thing stood up and walked on its hind legs. I realize this sounds crazy, but I swear on my grandmother’s grave this is the truth,” he wrote. “The frog stood about 4 feet tall.”
When they returned to Jacobs’ girlfriend’s home, her parents told them about the legend of the Frogman.
So was it the legendary Frogman? Or just a big frog? Jacobs wasn’t sure.
Around a day after WCPO’s story about Jacobs was published, we got a phone call from a man who claimed to be one of the original police officers who first saw the cryptid.
Mark Mathews told us the creature was not a frog at all.
Mathews explained that the first officer to encounter the purported Frogman, Ray Shockey, called him one night in the March of 1972 after spotting something strange on Riverside Drive/Kemper Road near the Totes boot factory and the Little Miami River.
“Naturally, I didn’t believe him … but I could somehow tell from his demeanor that he did see something,” Mathews said.
Later that month, Mathews was driving on Kemper Road near the boot factory when he saw something run across the road. However, it wasn’t walking upright and didn’t climb over the guardrail as the urban legend of the Frogman goes. The creature crawled under the guardrail. Matthews said he “had no clue what it was.”
“I know no one would believe me, so I shot it,” he said.
Mathews recovered the creature’s body and put it in his trunk to show Shockey. He said Shockey said it was the creature he had seen, too.
It was a large iguana about 3 or 3.5 feet long, Mathews said. The animal was missing its tail, which is why he didn’t immediately recognize it.
Mathews said he figured the iguana had been someone’s pet and then either got loose or was released when it grew too large. He also theorized that the cold-blooded animal had been living near the pipes that released water that was used for cooling the ovens in the boot factory as a way to stay warm in the cold March weather.
“It’s a big hoax,” he said. “There’s a logical explanation for everything.”
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