Sooner is better than later when it comes to picking out a Christmas tree this holiday season.
That’s because the demand is as high as ever, but the supply continues to dry up.
Alison McCrindle is the owner of Chickadee Christmas Trees in Cambridge, which has been offering cut-your-own and pre-cut trees for 20 years.
Last year, the farm was open for six and a half days for residents to come pick out the perfect tree, but with the limited supply they'll be open for six days leading up to Christmas, with the cut-your-own option originally only available this weekend. However, with rain on Sunday, the farm will be open next Friday and Saturday for people to cut their own trees.
With thousands of people expected to pass through their farm in the coming weeks, it makes for a busy season under even normal circumstances.
“We don’t have enough trees in the field to open for two full weekends,” McCrindle said.
“It’s really hard to open for a part weekend.”
An unusually dry summer and high demand are the main causes of the shortage.
“We’re 30 per cent down from previous years,” McCrindle said.
“It’s pretty significant from a business perspective. We’re only allowed to buy in a certain number of trees. We have quotas from our suppliers.”
Unfortunately, McCrindle thinks the shortage is a ways away from fixing itself. She points to the fact that over the past 10 years the country has lost 20,000 acres of Christmas trees.
The problem with the high number of people looking for real trees is that many of the smaller ones were being harvested in years past, which typically should’ve still been in the ground this year. It can be a difficult balancing act between satisfying customers and maintaining a full farm year in and year out, McCrindle says.
“We’re a ways from it turning around, eight to 10 years I’d say,” McCrindle said.
“We’ve lost a lot of farms recently. Many of the owners are in their 60’s and 70’s and don’t have succession plans. That means there are less trees.”
McCrindle best advice to people wanting a real tree this season is to not wait and to be open minded to the type of tree they get. She says people may not get the exact tree they’re looking for, but there are trees around.
Chickadee Christmas Trees, and the industry in general, are working hard on sustainability. McCrindle and her team are introducing biodegradable net wrapping for their trees, as opposed to the traditional plastic. They also hand plant and refrain from running tractors through the field.
“We offer a nature trail walk and an outdoor experience,” McCrindle said.
“Right from the get-go we said we weren’t going use fossil fuels to get people out to the field. It’s a pretty green practice to begin with and we’re an industry that is working to make it even better.”
For more information on Chickadee Christmas Trees visit chickadeechristmastrees.ca.
