'In a hurry to get a tree': Christmas growers point to short supply
Dec. 2—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Christmas tree farms are short on trees — in quantity and size.
Even in Indiana County, called the Christmas Tree Capital of the World — a title that arose in 1956, a year in which an estimated 700,000 trees were cut in the county — trees are scarce, said Brenda Koesler, owner of Evergreen Tree Farm.
The shortage of trees, at least large trees, is because of the recession, Koesler said — not the most recent recession precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Great Recession from 2007 through 2009.
If there hadn't been a recession at that time, she said, trees would have been planted that would have grown to a robust seven feet tall by the present day — but those trees weren't planted.
"That's why there's not a lot of them, because people didn't have the money to plant them in 2008," Koesler said. "It was the same last year and this year, but farms resumed planting after the recession, so next year crops will start getting better."
As a result of lower supply, prices for trees are a little higher, but not by much, she said. A seven-foot tree sells for $80 to $90.
Koesler purchased the farm at 24 Findley Road, Seward, three years ago, continuing the farm's 21-year production. She didn't foresee the dip in the number of trees due to the lack of planting years prior to her purchase.
"Everybody seems more in a hurry to get a tree because they know there's not an abundance," she said.
'Can't find them'
Jenny Walylko, co-owner with her husband Ray of Ray's Nurseries at 400 Eisenhower Blvd., Johnstown, said the nursery has 200 trees, which is not enough to open Ray's second marketplace on Scalp Avenue this season.
"We are short this year," she said. "Trees are just so small. They are not big enough to sell."
Unable to find trees locally, Walylko said the business sourced them from further north, stopping short of the Canada border.
"Some customers are asking why we don't have that many trees. We can't find them," she said. "We don't want to ship them from Canada because they get stuck in a truck for a month. We are not going to pay that much money for shipping.
"Hopefully next year we have a good year, and hopefully we can find them in the local area, because people want fresh-cut trees."
A seasonal spokeswoman for the National Christmas Tree Association, Jill Sidebottom, said that farmers across the nation had an overabundance of trees during the recession and couldn't sell them, which curbed their ability to plant.
"But growers have been planting more," she said, noting a survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Christmas Tree Promotion Board that suggested that 20% of buyers are purchasing real trees for the first time.
"Younger people are appreciating going out to hunt for a real tree," she said.
The association's website offers some advice to tree shoppers, including to shop early to have the best choice.
"You will be able to purchase a tree," the association said. "Supplies are tight and some locations will sell out early, but there are enough real farm-grown Christmas trees for everyone who wants one to get one.
"Supplies of real farm-grown trees have been tight since 2016, but each year shoppers have been able to find a tree."
