Clayton is a regular at the Manza Family Farm in Montgomery. For decades each December, the search for a Christmas tree is more of a Christmas quest. This year, he’s looking for a Fraser fir.
“They’re a good-looking tree; they got nice color to them," he said. "And they hold the ornaments real good.”
But this year’s search for a tree is different than in years past.
What You Need To Know
- According to Tom Manza, owner of Manza Family Farm, demand for Christmas trees are up but supply is down
- This shortage is due to low demand about a decade ago, leading to fewer trees being planted then
- Because it takes 10-12 years for the trees to grow, that decade-old decision has made fewer trees available today
Tom Manza has been the owner of his family’s farm for more than 35 years, but he says this year, the laws of economics are colliding with the spirit of the season.
“The demand has been very strong for a live tree, cut tree, the last few years," Manza said. "And there are shortages in pretty much every variety of tree.”
He adds this is actually a problem stretching back about a decade, because good trees take time to grow.
“Back 10 or 12 years, when there was a glut on the market of trees, guys were cutting them out for less than they had invested," Manza said. "And then they cut back on their planting and they had a crop failure going back 10 or 12 years ago as well, so it all filtered down to now.”
He thinks demand is also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think the cut tree business was up because of that," he said. "People wanted to get outside, get something more natural, back to the old days, if you will.”
Tom says that local farms have been able to get them the nearly 2,500 pre-cut trees they expect to sell, but he’s seen smaller farms give up on selling fresh Christmas trees altogether. He recommends getting to farms earlier in the season to pick the tree you really want.
