Behind the scenes: How the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is transported

One of the most iconic symbols of the holiday season in New York City, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree appears in midtown Manhattan seemingly out of thin air every November. 

This year, the powers that be selected a Norway Spruce from Vestal, New York in the Binghamton region.

Already on site, the majestic piece of nature has officially kicked off local festivities, with folks traveling to town to admire the tree in all of its glory in person.

Among the many things that people wonder about when in front of the sapling, one question reigns supreme: how did officials even get it to Rockefeller Center?

We spoke to Erik Pauze, the head gardener at Rockefeller Center, about it all:

How do you transport the tree to midtown Manhattan every year?

"The tree is cut down and lowered by crane onto a large flatbed truck, which then transports it to Manhattan. It is then driven onto Rockefeller Center Plaza the morning of the arrival, and then craned up and secured in place."

How long before the holidays does the tree usually arrive?

"The tree typically arrives at Rockefeller Center in mid-November to allow for enough time to decorate it before the lighting ceremony. It varies every year, but the tree is typically selected a few months before its location is announced."

What are your tree-selection parameters?

"The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is always a Norway Spruce [because] it's great for the scale it can achieve and its ability to hold the lights on its branches. It needs to look like a tree you would want in your living room but on a grander scale, at least 70 feet tall and about 40 feet in diameter."

What happens to the tree once Christmas is over? 

“Once taken down and removed from the Plaza, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity, with the receiving affiliate determining how the lumber will be used.”