Christmas Tree Farmers Cope with Drought

Dallas: Christmas Tree Farmers Hope Sales Don't Dry Up

Source: The Dallas Morning News

The two-year drought may be taking a toll on some area Christmas tree farms, but cruel rumors of a Grinch-like grip on the industry have been greatly exaggerated

Despite the drought, most area tree farms like this one in Denison say they will open today with healthy trees. But because of those dire reports, some North Texas farmers now say their biggest fear is a dearth of customers, not trees.

"There should be no reason to panic," said Sue Weaver of Rancho Poco Loco Christmas Tree Farm in Midlothian, south of Dallas. "We have this huge well that we put in that's 875 feet deep, so we have an endless supply of water. Our trees have not suffered at all from the drought."

Marshall Cathey, owner of the Elves Christmas Tree Farm in Denison, flocks a tree in preparation for opening today. Despite the drought, 'our trees are looking good,' he said. Ms. Weaver said about 300 of the farm's 3,000 trees are ready for cutting. Last year, they sold 186 trees, so they figure to have plenty to accommodate this season's needs.

The rumors of a tree shortage started after local news media reported that some North Texas tree farms lost too many trees to the drought to open this year. But of the approximately two dozen Dallas-Fort Worth area farms registered with the Texas Christmas Tree Growers Association, only two are closed.

"The stories were all doom and gloom. We have customers that will hear something and just assume we're all closed, but our trees are looking good," said Marshall Cathey, owner of Elves Christmas Tree Farm in Denison, north of Dallas.

Mr. Marshall said about 2,500 of his 11,000 trees are ready for cutting. Nonetheless, he's been getting daily phone calls and e-mails from past buyers wanting to know if he'll be open this year.

Bob Childress, the association's past president, said the dry weather problems are not widespread. Most growers use drip irrigation and grow drought-tolerant trees.

"I've talked to several friends in the association and most are looking forward to a good year," Mr. Childress said. "There's no reason to push the panic button at this point."

Even the two farms that are closed this season have trees, but they need another year or two of growing time.

"I'm opening just to family and my loyal customers," said Ron Dearman, owner of 4D Tree Farm in Weatherford, west of Fort Worth. "With the drought and the heat, we just didn't get the growth this year. I've probably got about 200 or 300 trees ready, and that's not enough to meet demand."

Tom Spencer, owner of HSH Tree Farm in Sandy Shores, north of Fort Worth, said good sales the last few years contributed to his decision not to open this season.

"It's not totally the drought," Mr. Spencer said. "I'm a small grower, and I just can't make them grow fast enough. I only have about two-and-a-half acres and 550 trees."

Steve Chaney, a horticulturist with the Tarrant County Extension Service, said location has a lot to do with which farms have suffered the most. Those west and north of Fort Worth have been harder hit by the dry weather than those south and east, he said.

But some growers say survival has more to do with size and preparedness.

"We've had a drought situation for a number of years, but we've just learned to compensate for it," said Evelyn Bollman of Kadee Farm Christmas Tree Plantation in Greenville, which has about 4,000 trees ready for cutting. "We have 30,000 trees in various stages of development, and we probably sell around 2,000 per year."

Hardest hit by dry spells are seedlings, Ms. Bollman said, so smart farmers plant more than they need to ensure enough survive to maturity. Once trees are established, Ms. Bollman said, they have a taproot that will go deeper in search of water during a dry spell.

Trees are usually trimmed in spring, summer and fall to maintain their "Christmas tree" shape, but growers alter the schedule to accommodate rainfall. At Canton Christmas Tree Farm in East Texas, owner Chuck Bozeman said if the weather's too dry, he skips the fall trim.

"Sometimes if you don't get rain late, you won't get new growth and the ends can look a little burnt," Mr. Bozeman said. "But this year even that has grown back."

Mr. Bozeman said he has 5,000 trees in the 4- to 10-foot range, so he's in no danger of selling out this year. Even Haynie's Green Acres Christmas Tree Farm in Crowley, south of Fort Worth, has plenty of trees for cutting despite losing about a third of its crop to lack of rain.

"The trees we lost were all different sizes, so I'm not going to be down this year," said Bettye Haynie. "Yes, it's true we've had a drought and yes, it's true it has affected some trees, but we will still be open."

Almost all the farms also bring in pre-cut trees from out of state for customers who want firs and other trees not grown in Texas. They get the day-at-the-farm experience and their preferred tree, Ms. Weaver said.

It's a great way to make holiday memories, said Lisa Fritz of Dallas. Her family has been cutting their tree at the Elves farm in Denison since 1999 when her boys were 2 and 5 years old.

"Now they're 9 and 12, and for them, it's become a family tradition," Ms. Fritz said. "There's an outdoor fire and a hayride, and the boys get to cut their own tree. It's really about the whole experience."

Christmas Tree Farmers in Savannah, Ga. Survive Drought

Source: Savannah Morning News

In three quick hours the day after Thanksgiving, Steve Thompson sold an entire row of his 9-foot-tall Christmas trees.

Not to worry, though.

Families who browsed his tree lot near Grayson Stadium in Savannah's Daffin Park could still choose from 12-footers or lush 6-footers.

"The trees are fatter and fuller than most years," said Thompson, who co-chairs the local Lions Club, which runs the tree lot. "We get our trees from a grower in North Carolina, and the rain was so good this year. This is the most beautiful year for trees we've had in a long time."

But it could have been a bad year for Christmas tree farmers in the Savannah River region. Counties up and down the river officially have been coping with drought conditions since at least Sept. 20, state climatologist Hope Mizzell said.

Lack of rain can be bad for Christmas trees and for the businesses trying to turn a profit off the crop. Drought kills the new trees and stunts the growth of the older ones - which in turn stunts the asking price.

"If you can't make a 7-foot tree, you can't sell a 7-foot tree," said Wes Cooler, owner of the Okatie Christmas Tree Farm in Beaufort County, S.C.

Although this week's soaking rain helped mitigate the drought conditions, lake levels still are not where they ought to be, Mizzell said.

Still, the area's growers say a combination of good luck and irrigation has yielded a nice crop of Christmas trees ready for families to take home and enjoy.

Cooler said he does not irrigate, and he is still trying to woo back customers he lost when droughts in 2002 and 2003 produced a poor crop of trees.

But, he said, "this year was not bad for us. We got rain infrequently. But when it came, it was just in time."

Three years ago, Sandy Wohlers stopped waiting for the rain.

"(I was) relying on Mother Nature, and she wasn't working," said Wohlers, owner of the Sweet Water Tree Farm outside Aiken, S.C.

Instead, she invested thousands of dollars in an irrigation system.

She said it's enough to keep healthy homegrown trees, which she provides for families who prefer to cut their own rather than purchase the pre-cut trees Wohlers also sells.

Irrigation is not quite as good as rain, said Beaufort County tree farmer Milledge Morris, who has been irrigating his Family Tree trees for 15 years.

A Christmas tree's roots spread out far and wide. Rain reaches them all - irrigation doesn't, Morris said.

"(Rainfall) affects them quite a bit," he said. "They like rain better than irrigation because I can't irrigate enough."

Nevertheless, irrigation ensures that trees get the moisture they need, regardless of whether the year is wet or dry.

Christmas-tree growers have not reported many problems resulting from drought this year, said Mike McCartha, executive secretary of the South Carolina Christmas Tree Association.

For consumers, McCartha said, there are easy tests to ensure they're taking home a healthy product.

"Pull on the needles," he said. "If they fall off in your hand - whoops, you don't want that tree."

Dry conditions tough on Tree Crops in Minnesota

Source: Pioneer Press

Clear Lake Minn. - Live Christmas trees could be more expensive and tougher find in upcoming years with dry conditions reducing Christmas tree crops.

The owner of a 110-acre tree farm in Clear Lake says this year's mature trees are healthy -- but they were planted three years ago. Since then he lost almost all the trees planted in 2004, 2005 and this year. Christmas trees generally need three years to grow to maturity.

To keep next year's crop alive, owner Jack Peterson invested in a 60,000 dollar irrigation system. He also hopes it can speed up the growth of surviving trees to make up for the lost ones.

Peterson says he's had to raise his prices by a dollar per tree to pay for the irrigation system.