First lady Melania Trump will receive the official White House Christmas for 2025 on Nov. 24, marking the first time a Michigan farm has provided the iconic holiday staple in more than four decades.

Korson's Tree Farms, a Christmas tree grower in west Michigan, was granted the honor after winning the National Christmas Tree Association's contest in July. The biannual contest by the association, which is based in St. Louis, gives Christmas tree growers across the country a chance to have their trees featured in the White House and the vice president's residence each Christmas season.

The farm said on social media it cut down the official White House Christmas tree on Tuesday and sent it on its way to the nation's capital. Korson's Tree Farms owner Rex Korson previously told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, he will also travel to Washington, DC, to present the tree to the first lady on a horse-drawn carriage, per tradition.

The tree will then be displayed in the Blue Room of the White House, Korson said. The tree's arrival comes as White House tours featuring the Christmas decorations on the State Floor are set to resume in December after months of closure due to controversial construction.

"We're very excited about the opportunity," Korson said. "We're proud to be able to represent real Christmas tree farmers across the United States and carrying on that tradition of providing a real Christmas tree for the White House."

Here's what to know about the farm that grew the 2025 White House Christmas tree:

What is Korson's Tree Farms?

Korson's Tree Farms, which sells a variety of Christmas trees, is a wholesale tree grower, according to its website. The family-owned farm began in 1973 and is based in Sidney Township, nearly an hour northeast of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The family business began with Korson's parents, Wayne and Vicki Korson, and Korson's son is now starting to work at the farms, Korson said.

"Growing real trees, it's very rewarding knowing that we work hard all year round and knowing that the trees that we're growing are the centerpiece of families' holiday traditions," Korson said.

Korson's previously provided the vice president's tree

Korson's Tree Farms won the reserve champion in the 2015 Christmas tree contest, providing that year's official Christmas tree to the vice president's residence, the farm's website says.

The farm has entered the national Christmas tree contest six times since 2009, Korson said. It has also competed in the Michigan Christmas Tree Association's contest, including in 2024, and won grand champion in 2017, presenting a Christmas tree to then-Gov. Rick Snyder, according to its website.

White House Christmas tree comes from Michigan for the first time in more than 40 years

The upcoming honor will mark the first time a Michigan Christmas tree farm provided the official White House Christmas tree in 41 years, Korson said. The 1985 winner was Stephen Vander Wiede, who supplied a blue spruce, the Association's website notes.

North Carolina and Pennsylvania have provided the most trees for display in the White House's Blue Room since 1961, when First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of selecting a theme for the tree, according to the White House Historical Association.

In 2024, the Cartner family farm in North Carolina provided the White House a 20-foot Fraser fir aptly named “Tremendous." Sam Cartner, one of three brothers who run the Avery County farm, told the Asheville Citizen-Times, part of the USA TODAY Network, the honor meant even more to him in light of the devastation inflicted on the region by Hurricane Helene.

What kind of tree is the 2025 White House Christmas tree?

An "enormous" concolor fir, a variety with a silver-blue needle and citrus scent, was selected to be the official 2025 White House Christmas tree, the farm said on social media.

Firs are by far the most popular choice for White House Christmas trees, followed far behind by spruces and pines, according to the White House Historical Association.

Why is the White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room?

President William Howard Taft's children were the first to place a tree in the Blue Room on the State Floor in 1912, according to the White House Historical Association. Successive first families sporadically followed the tradition after that until First Lady Mamie Eisenhower began consistently placing a tree in the Blue Room.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where did the White House get its Christmas tree? Here's what to know

Reporting by N'dea Yancey-Bragg and Jenna Prestininzi, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect