'Hectic' sale of live Christmas trees leaves slim pickings in Polk County

Polk County residents headed out shopping on Black Friday trying to secure the most elusive items on their holiday shopping list. If a Christmas tree wasn’t on it, finding one now may be difficult.

Booger Mountain Christmas Trees, located on Pipkin Road in Lakeland, sold around 400 trees in four hours last Friday. It opened for the season at 9 a.m. that day and was sold out by 1 p.m.

Local tree farm sellers across Polk County say there’s a widespread shortage of trees that’s making it difficult to secure enough to meet demand.

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National retailers like Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart have a steady supply of live trees for sale. But the high costs of diesel fuel and inflation have put an economic squeeze on small businesses.

"It was a very, very hectic day,” Merrick Teagan, a manager with Booger Mountain, said. “We used to have a four-week season but now it’s turning into four days.”

Teagan said he hoped to get a second truckload of about 400 to 500 by Tuesday. That will likely be it for the season, and he expects to sell out.

“Quality trees are so scarce,” Pat Sample, Booger Mountain’s bookkeeper, said. “So many of the smaller local growers have been put out of business.”

A five-year shortage

The supply issues have roots dating back to about five years, according to Teagan. Tree growers found themselves with an oversupply of Christmas trees and started planting less. Smaller growers had a hard time getting ahold of seedlings to plant new trees, according to Sample.

“Now it’s catching up with everyone,” he said. “Both our lot and private owner’s don’t have as many trees available as usual.”

Sample said larger tree producers kept tight controls on the number of seedlings that were available to purchase. This meant local farms planted smaller crops as the trees take several years to mature and reach desirable heights.

“We have lots of trees coming up, but they are somewhere around the tabletop height,” she said. “They are beautiful trees, but it’s going to take many years.”

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The quality of the trees being shipped to Florida isn’t what it used to be according to Debbie Harris, 67, who owns Ergle Christmas Tree Farm in Dade City with her husband.

“Five or six years ago, we wouldn’t have gotten one or two bad trees in a load” she said. “Now we are getting some trees that we have to take down, cut the bottom, straighten them up.”

Ergle Christmas Tree Farm was able to secure taller trees, 12 foot and taller. Harris said she’s had several customers call her seeking these trees that are becoming harder to find. She said her farm's annual crop of locally grown trees has flourished given Central Florida's plentiful rain this summer.

Booger Mountain has seen its option to pre-order a tree become more and more popular, Sample said, with requests for specific types of trees often of taller heights being ordered in October.

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“We’ve had a lot of special orders this year as it seems word got around that was the way to guarantee yourself a tree,” she said.

Teagan suggested those still looking to purchase a live tree call up local lots and check what day they expect to receive a truckload as many operate on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“If they have a truck coming in, try to be there as early as possible,” he said.

Higher cost for holiday cheer

A scarcity of live trees along with higher fuel costs and inflation has sent the price of Christmas trees soaring. Labor costs have gone up, growers said, as have the costs of fertilizer.

Roughly five years ago, a 7-foot to 9-foot tree would have cost a family roughly $80 to $90, according to Teagan. Now, he said the cost of a similar tree is pushing $140 to $150.

Harris said she realized the economy and inflation were going to be an issue in February. Ergle Christmas Tree Farms began to re-evaluate its growing practices, eliminating processes that were labor intensive without much benefit to the trees while implementing new systems.

“We understand the economy is a problem,” she said. “There are a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck so we are trying to keep our prices low.”

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In the 36 years in business, Harris said Ergle had only increased the prices of its Florida-grown trees once from $30 to $36 for a tree under 6 feet. The cut-your-own tree pricing was held flat at $6 a foot for those measuring six to nine feet, and $7 for those over nine feet.  

Local tree sellers are also turning to alternative products to help increase sales and profit margins. Harris said her farm has seen an increase in wreath sales and has begun selling kettle corn to visitors looking to snack while hunting for the perfect tree.

Local tree option

Those looking for a locally grown tree for Christmas can cut down their own at Lake Wales Ridge State Park.

The park’s 13th annual Christmas Tree Sale started Monday and runs through Dec. 21. Those interested must go to Lake Wales Ridge State Forest Headquarters located at 851 Country Road 630 East in Frostproof, to obtain a special permit. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Available trees average 10 feet to 15 feet in height. Residents can cut the tree down to their desired height after leaving the state park. Trees cost $10 a piece and must be cut down using a handsaw. No power tools are permitted.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFL. 

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: 'So scarce': Christmas trees in short supply this season in Lakeland