HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – Hunting for a Christmas tree is a tradition for many families, but that tradition has been put on hold at Santa’s Forest & Nursery in Suffolk. The low tree supply forced the farm to close this season.
It’s the first time Christmas tree farmer Mike Helvestine said he’s had to close since opening 16 years ago.
“This year is just going to be a total loss,” he said. “It’s just that I don’t have the trees to sell, so what can you do?”
The supply for trees is down and demand is up.
Helvestine said last year, he sold 70% of his inventory.
“We got bombed with people,” he said. “We cut more trees off this farm last year than we’ve cut off since we’ve been open. So, we decided we’re going to let these smaller trees grow another year to try and get some size on them.”
Santa’s Forest is not the only farm with slim pickings.
At MillFarm Christmas Trees & Berry Farm in Williamsburg, third generation farmers Bill & Mary Apperson say they can’t grow them fast enough. It takes several years for a spruce, fur or pine to reach the market size of eight feet.
“We have less trees than we’ve ever had, and we have more customers than we’ve ever had, so it’s been an issue,” said Mary Apperson.
With fertilizer and trucking costs going up, the Appersons and other farmers had no choice but to raise prices. A majority of growers say a tree could cost anywhere between 5% and 15% more this year.
At MillFarm, a tree will cost a dollar more each foot.
“The trees we could afford are smaller and we try to hold the price back on those as much as we possibly can,” Bill Apperson said.
Back at Santa’s Forest, Helvestine is hoping to be back open next year.
“We’re going to try to tend with what we’ve got, try to get the little ones to grow,” Helvestine said. “I can talk real pretty to them every day and see if they’ll grow a little quicker for me.”
Unfortunately, the low tree supply won’t get any better anytime soon. Some farmers believe the issue will be an ongoing for the next decade.
