It could be time to get those fresh-cut Christmas trees now versus later

Christmas tree shopping will be ramping up very soon. For tree farmers, recent droughts over the past years have been kind of rough on their inventory.

“It has been dry, and I have noticed a lot of the seedlings that I have planted, they have been taking an extra year or more to get growth and to grow. So, normally pine will grow up to two feet a year. Obviously, we charred them so they don’t grow as fast. You know, the growth rate or height of them. But yeah, it has been quite dry lately; and it has really impacted the tree farm,” said Bobby Abrahamson, owner of Abrahamson Tree Farm.

With it being so dry, farmers have seen impacts on different levels on how their trees grow. “If we don’t get enough rain, the growth rate goes down, and there is the needle minor, which affects the trees. It can come in and wipe out some trees that have been around the area.”

Local tree farmers like; Abrahamson Tree Farm is taking extra steps to keep their trees strong.

“Lately, I have been taking out all the overgrown trees, freeing up more space for the new young trees to grow and freeing up water and sunlight for them. And then even just for fire danger, keeping the brush back.”

It is recommended that if you decide to get a fresh-cut tree this year, provide the tree with water every day especially when you first buy it.