‘Tis the season to deck the halls. Hundreds of thousands of Americans flocked to Christmas tree farms and retailer lots to pick their holiday centerpiece over the weekend. There have been loads of trees, but what about the associated fee and tree decisions?
Prices are rising country-wide because the weather has recently taken a toll on Christmas trees.
This summer was the third-warmest on record for the U.S., and major producer states Oregon and Washington suffered from floods and warmth.
“The trees we planted in the summertime took a fairly hard hit because their roots hadn’t grown enough to cope with that hot heat we had,” Christmas tree farmer and retailer Glenn Bustard told FOX Weather. “I feel it was more of the warmth than lack of water. But the large trees, they were superb.”
After 59% of the northeast reported “abnormally dry” conditions and one other 24% in drought in August, the Lansdale, Pennsylvania farm lost 10% of the newly planted trees. Hurricane Ian soaked the world in October, however the rain only relieved the larger trees.
But farmers say it’s not only one 12 months of maximum weather that impacts tree production. A 3 to 15-foot Christmas tree takes 8 to 12 years to grow.
Bustard plants his trees after they are 3 years old, which suggests each is at risk of weather extremes for five to 9 years.
“For Christmas tree growers, for the lifetime of that tree, we now have to fret about every 12 months of weather,” Lucas Dull, co-owner of Dulls Tree Farm in Indiana, told FOX Weather. “And one 12 months of drought or heavy rains and flooding can affect several years price of Christmas trees.”
So farms are still recovering from the record wet autumn in Seattle in 2021, which followed a deadly heat wave. Hanford, Washington hit 120 degrees setting an all-time state record.
The highest Christmas tree-producing states, in response to the National Christmas Tree Association, all experienced prolonged weather extremes in only the last 12 months:
- Oregon
- North Carolina
- Michigan
- Pennsylvania
- Wisconsin
- Washington
“The last couple years, the provision has been tight depending on what area of the country you might be in,” said Dull. “Nonetheless, there has at all times ended up being enough trees for people, but sometimes people can have to decide on a unique size or species than they’re used to.”
Prices are up across the country, in response to the Real Christmas Tree Board. And after surveying Christmas tree sellers from coast to coast, the board feels that some aren’t even covering their costs. Inflation, especially on transportation, has skyrocketed.
“They told us they’d be increasing their wholesale prices between 5 and 15%,” Marsha Gray, executive director of the Real Christmas Tree Board. “But which may be more moderate than actually their input costs.”
A client at Bustard’s Christmas Trees said he spent lower than he expected to pay for a tree in Pennsylvania. But his son in California shelled out quite a bit more.
Currently, 99% of the Golden State is under moderate drought, 85% under severe drought and over 40% under extreme drought, in response to NOAA. The West spent the last 22 years within the worst drought in 1,200 years, a megadrought.
“It’s outrageous. For a few of the trees, it’s about $300, and the 3-foot, 4-foot about $100,” Leon Padilla said about his son’s tree shopping. “He was excited about coming out here with a truck picking up a few of these trees, and doing transport.”
Nature is difficult on trees even before we think about weather extremes.
Only about half of all seedlings in plantations make it to a Christmas tree stand. For each tree harvested, farmers must plant 1 to three seedlings, says the National Christmas Tree Association.
The business of Christmas
In 2021, the country spent a collective $984 million on about 21.6 million holiday trees, in response to the American Christmas Tree Association. The just about 15,000 Christmas tree farms employ about 100,000 people full-time. Almost 350 million trees currently cover about 350,000 acres.
Should you don’t have a tree yet, don’t delay. One tree retailer sold 60% of their trees the weekend after Thanksgiving. Pickings shall be slim the closer we get to Christmas.
‘Tis the season to deck the halls. Hundreds of thousands of Americans flocked to Christmas tree farms and retailer lots to pick their holiday centerpiece over the weekend. There have been loads of trees, but what about the associated fee and tree decisions?
Prices are rising country-wide because the weather has recently taken a toll on Christmas trees.
This summer was the third-warmest on record for the U.S., and major producer states Oregon and Washington suffered from floods and warmth.
“The trees we planted in the summertime took a fairly hard hit because their roots hadn’t grown enough to cope with that hot heat we had,” Christmas tree farmer and retailer Glenn Bustard told FOX Weather. “I feel it was more of the warmth than lack of water. But the large trees, they were superb.”
After 59% of the northeast reported “abnormally dry” conditions and one other 24% in drought in August, the Lansdale, Pennsylvania farm lost 10% of the newly planted trees. Hurricane Ian soaked the world in October, however the rain only relieved the larger trees.
But farmers say it’s not only one 12 months of maximum weather that impacts tree production. A 3 to 15-foot Christmas tree takes 8 to 12 years to grow.
Bustard plants his trees after they are 3 years old, which suggests each is at risk of weather extremes for five to 9 years.
“For Christmas tree growers, for the lifetime of that tree, we now have to fret about every 12 months of weather,” Lucas Dull, co-owner of Dulls Tree Farm in Indiana, told FOX Weather. “And one 12 months of drought or heavy rains and flooding can affect several years price of Christmas trees.”
So farms are still recovering from the record wet autumn in Seattle in 2021, which followed a deadly heat wave. Hanford, Washington hit 120 degrees setting an all-time state record.
The highest Christmas tree-producing states, in response to the National Christmas Tree Association, all experienced prolonged weather extremes in only the last 12 months:
- Oregon
- North Carolina
- Michigan
- Pennsylvania
- Wisconsin
- Washington
“The last couple years, the provision has been tight depending on what area of the country you might be in,” said Dull. “Nonetheless, there has at all times ended up being enough trees for people, but sometimes people can have to decide on a unique size or species than they’re used to.”
Prices are up across the country, in response to the Real Christmas Tree Board. And after surveying Christmas tree sellers from coast to coast, the board feels that some aren’t even covering their costs. Inflation, especially on transportation, has skyrocketed.
“They told us they’d be increasing their wholesale prices between 5 and 15%,” Marsha Gray, executive director of the Real Christmas Tree Board. “But which may be more moderate than actually their input costs.”
A client at Bustard’s Christmas Trees said he spent lower than he expected to pay for a tree in Pennsylvania. But his son in California shelled out quite a bit more.
Currently, 99% of the Golden State is under moderate drought, 85% under severe drought and over 40% under extreme drought, in response to NOAA. The West spent the last 22 years within the worst drought in 1,200 years, a megadrought.
“It’s outrageous. For a few of the trees, it’s about $300, and the 3-foot, 4-foot about $100,” Leon Padilla said about his son’s tree shopping. “He was excited about coming out here with a truck picking up a few of these trees, and doing transport.”
Nature is difficult on trees even before we think about weather extremes.
Only about half of all seedlings in plantations make it to a Christmas tree stand. For each tree harvested, farmers must plant 1 to three seedlings, says the National Christmas Tree Association.
The business of Christmas
In 2021, the country spent a collective $984 million on about 21.6 million holiday trees, in response to the American Christmas Tree Association. The just about 15,000 Christmas tree farms employ about 100,000 people full-time. Almost 350 million trees currently cover about 350,000 acres.
Should you don’t have a tree yet, don’t delay. One tree retailer sold 60% of their trees the weekend after Thanksgiving. Pickings shall be slim the closer we get to Christmas.
