Christmas trees: prices up, selection down

At Church Christmas Tree Farms, families are able to choose and cut down their own fresh Christmas trees.

“It was green and also the branches were crisp and clean and not wet,” said Dashiell Camara.

“I liked that the tips looked really cool,” said Dexter Camara.

Since the 60’s, locals and tourists have roamed the 20 acre land for Douglas Firs, Monterey Pines and other varieties.

“About 22 years we’ve been coming here,” said Michael Adamson of Monterey. “I leave it to my wife to choose a tree. I wouldn’t dare choose it myself. Life wouldn’t be worth living.”

While business has been consistent, good weather has not.

“Drought made some serious impact onto this little old thing,” said owner Glenn Church. “But I’m replanting it and growing things back. We’re still a little lean on our supply.”

Church said the heat has also hurt the crop–Douglas Firs in particular. The sun is frying the trees needles and killing a lot young seedlings.

“I was planting 5,000 trees a year and I was getting a 90 percent fatality out of them,” said Church.

Bad weather has meant a shorter supply for tree vendors, which increases costs. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, the price of trees has gone up 40 percent since 2008.

Setting aside price and tree health, many people told KION that getting a tree is an adventure and help raise Christmas spirits.

“We’ve tried other places in the past, but this is our favorite place to come,” said Adamson.

Local vendors also told KION they believe they will most likely sell out because of the small supply.